Danny stirred as the plane began its descent. He'd been travelling for two days straight, through two continents, and he was completely exhausted. As he exited the plane, he turned on his cellphone and looked at his messages. His editor, his mother, a woman he'd met in Singapore and a familiar number that he didn't have saved in this phone. It was a message from Katie Witt, his former co-worker from the White House press corps. He smirked as he listened to his voicemail.
"Hey, Danny. Mike told me you were on your way back to DC. Are you staying for more than half a day? A bunch of us are meeting at the usual place tonight if you wanna come and reminisce about the good ole days. Call me when you land."
The message ended, and Danny was filled with painful nostalgia. He'd been away for more than a year. He'd been busy, travelled the world and seen amazing places and met extraordinary people but he'd missed DC, or more specifically, missed the White House press room more than he could explain. He dialled Katie's number as he waited for a taxi.
"Hey Katie," Danny said.
"Do my ears deceive me?" Katie replied gleefully, "could it be the one and only Daniel Concannon?"
"Yours truly," Danny replied with a smile.
"Are back in the country?" She asked.
"Yeah, just landed," he said, sounding tired.
"We just finished up, do you want to meet us?" She asked.
"Uhm, yeah sure, I can meet you there," he replied, trying to sound normal.
"But we can also meet at the office, I mean I always have paperwork…" her voice trailed off.
"No, it's fine. I'll meet you guys there," he added quickly and hung up the phone after saying goodbye.
He gave the taxi driver the address and silently berated himself. She had given him a reason to visit the White House, but he wasn't sure it would be worth the relentless teasing he would have to endure from her if he'd taken her up on her offer. Katie was his closest confidant at the White House and was probably the only one who knew the real reason why he left.
The taxi pulled up at the familiar bar, and he paid and left, carrying his old and worn-out travel bag. He entered the bar and couldn't help but smile. It was like walking back in time. This bar was noteworthy for many reasons. Its regulars were White House staffers, politicians and journalists. Somehow they all seemed to be able to share this haven and not argue, too much at least, about work. There was no music playing, and the surroundings were plain, but the dim lighting and dark corners were inviting. He saw his former colleagues sitting in one corner and made his way towards them. He was greeted with cheers and hugs, and he sat next to Katie and immediately was handed a beer. For a while he just sat and listened, simply enjoying being around these people again. Suddenly a conversation to his right grabbed his attention.
"And as I told my editor, The Secret Service "doesn't comment on procedure," and they refuse to comment about virtually anything," a young looking reported Danny didn't know the name of, said.
"So are you dumping the story?" Steve said.
"No, I'm not ready to. I mean, there's a story here. The press secretary has secret service protection, and they refuse to tell us why? I'm getting to the bottom of it," the young reporter said, a bit too smugly for Danny's liking.
"C.J. has secret service protection?" Danny asked, speaking louder than he would have cared for.
The young reporter turned towards him and the colour drained from his face as he stared back at Danny. Although Danny was no longer a part of the White House press corps. he was well respected and well known.
"I haven't heard anything about that," Danny added looking at Katie.
"It's floating around. Either she's got protection, or she's seeing a secret service agent," Katie replied looking intently at Danny.
"Why do you think there's a story," Danny asked the young reported, ignoring Katie.
"I have a source that tells me C.J. Cregg has been escorted by secret service everywhere she goes for the last two weeks, and I know for a fact there has been an increase in the agents following the senior staff and the president lately. In the trip to Helsinki, I heard her admonish a secret service agent…" he abruptly stopped speaking as he saw the glare Katie was giving him.
"Come with me," she said, grabbing Danny's arm and leading him towards the bar.
"Ok, listen. Before you get all high and mighty, just remember, you left. You left, and you're not in the inner circle anymore. I know it sucks hearing this, but this was your choice. You know my opinion. Now, about this secret service business. A few weeks ago she made comments about the schoolgirl burning in Saudi Arabia. She was being, well C.J., and I'm guessing that's what the added security is about. I wouldn't worry about it," Katie finished, her hand still on his arm.
Danny's head was reeling. She had secret service protection? Was she being threatened? Right now, all the reasons to leave seemed so incredibly insignificant.
"I need to see her," he said, shrugging Katie's hand off his arm.
"That's not a good idea," she said calmly.
"I don't care if you don't think it's a good idea, I want to... I need to see her," he said defiantly.
"No," Katie replied assertively.
"It's not your say Katie," Danny said as he made to walk past her.
"Danny…" her tone made him stop, "she's just now starting to be happy again. Don't ruin it."
Danny felt like she'd punched him.
"I'm sorry, but nothing good comes from you seeing her. It will only upset her… You left Danny," she repeated, and he turned and sat next to her at the bar.
"You know why I had to leave," he said quietly.
"I know why you thought you had to leave," she said back.
"Katie…" Danny began.
"No Danny. I know what you're going to say and frankly, I call bullshit. You had the opportunity to give the two of you a go, and you refused. You said that being a reporter was more important — being a White House reporter was a part of your identity. And then what do you do? You leave. Danny, you left, and you don't get to come back here a year later and interfere in her life. I won't allow it. You had your chance, and you blew it. Maybe the others don't notice, but I saw how she was… I know that after she found out you'd left she slept in her office for days," Katie finished, looking him intently in the eye.
"And how, exactly, do you know that?" Danny retorted angrily
"Danny," she warned.
"What's she been saying to you? I thought you never talked about work?" He said with an unfamiliar mockery in his voice, which she saw through immediately.
"Please, don't even begin…" Katie said with contempt.
"I…" he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I just, I had to get away. I'm not saying I'm proud of it, but I couldn't stay anymore," he said remorsefully.
Katie looked at him, and the edge of her anger seemed to wear off.
"Can you just tell me. Is she… Is she well?" He added, his voice croaking.
Katie took a while deciding whether or not to respond.
"She's got some protection," she said vaguely, "but she seems happy… Please don't ruin that for her. Not when nothing's changed," she finished, putting her hand on his.
"I won't," Danny replied.
He ordered them drinks, and they sat in silence.
"I noticed…" Danny said suddenly.
"Noticed what?" Katie asked.
"That she was happy again," he replied softly, "I still watch her, whenever I can."
Katie smiled and squeezed his hand.
"It's been a hard year for her," she said, "but I've been in absolute awe watching her take everything in stride. She's fierce and just…" Her voice trailed off with a soft sigh as she took a sip of her drink.
Danny looked at her with his eyebrows raised, a ghost of a grin on his lips. When she noticed his look, she bumped her shoulder with his.
"Oh, shut up," she said, hiding her smile behind her glass.
Danny chuckled and finished his drink.
"I'm beat. I'm going to get going," he said as he stood and put on his jacket, "give my love to the missus," he said with a grin as he grabbed his bag and waved goodbye to the remaining group.
Katie bit back her retort and smiled at him.
"I will," she called back at him coyly and laughed at his expression of amusement and slight surprise.
✥✥✥✥
Katie rummaged for her keys as she stood in front of the entrance. Shivering slightly she finally found them and quickly opened the door. The sound of smooth jazz and the smell of baking greeted her, and she beamed as she walked into the warm apartment. She put her bag on a chair and walked into the living room.
"Hey sweety," she said as she walked towards the sofa, her heart jumping slightly as it always did when this amazing woman looked at her.
"Hey, how was it. You're home early," Carol replied moving her legs so Katie could sit next to her.
"Yeah well, I missed you," Katie replied and bent her head to her a kiss. She pulled Carol's legs over hers and absentmindedly stroked her calves.
"Are you alright?" Carol asked sweetly.
"Well…" Katie paused, "Danny's back," she said looking intently at the other woman's face.
As she feared, Carol stiffed, and a worried look washed over her face.
Before she could say anything, Katie said, "I told him to stay away. I was a bit, harsh, to him but I told him…"
"What?" Carol asked.
"I didn't tell him anything, well anything confidential, I just told him she was happy," Katie said apprehensively.
She thought Carol was going to object or be mad, but then she just smiled at her.
"Thank you," Carol beamed at her, "is that why you're back so early," she asked calmly.
"Yeah. I just wanted to see you," Katie smiled at her.
"Well, I for one am glad. I made cookies," she smiled at her.
"You're unbelievable," Katie laughed and pulled her up to give her another kiss.
"What?" Carol laughed between kisses, "I had the night off, and I wanted to surprise you," she kissed her back and pulled her closer.
Katie wanted to joke about Carol being an excellent wife-material but stopped herself before she could say anything. That was a joke too close to home. Their relationship was a complete secret; you could count on one hand the number of people who knew about the two of them. They were careful and not just because of their positions at either side of the White House press room. The world wasn't ready for an openly lesbian couple working in the White House. Their conflict of interest was nothing compared to the wave of hatred that would flood them. But they would wait. Even if that meant waiting for almost eight years.
Katie had never really been in the closet. She'd grown up in New York, liberal parents and from the moment she told her mom about her first crush in the first grade, she'd been out. She quickly realised that, unfortunately, she was one of few. Her college years were filled with bi-curious pillow-princesses, but she first experienced the lack of open-mindedness with her first serious girlfriend, Gretchen. She was completely head over heels in love and quickly brought Gretchen home to meet her parents. Gretchen was shy but endearing, and Katie let her mind wander far into the future. They'd been together for over a year when Gretchen's parents found out, and then everything went to pieces. As it turned out, Gretchen was only 'out' at school. Coming from a religious and conservative background, she daren't come out to her parents. With the threat of disowning and desist of college tuition, Gretchen broke off their relationship and transferred to a non-ivy-league school, in her home state. It was a douse of cold reality for Katie. She'd had other girlfriends but was more wary of herself, as Gretchen's parents had not been quiet about their displeasure to the school board. She received subtle reminders to keep her personal life private, from the school. As she graduated and began working, she never hid that she was gay, but she didn't mention it especially. She was more interested in the story she was chasing, and as she'd begun covering the White House during the last administration, she kept quiet. The world was slowly opening up, but the White House seemed to be a few steps behind.
Carol had a different story. No one in her family knew she was out and she wasn't sure she would ever tell them. She was from a very conservative background and knew for a fact what would happen if she came out to them. She rarely went back home, and C.J. was one of the few people who knew, and she'd been very supportive from the beginning and Carol was fiercely protective of her.
It had actually been mutual admiration of C.J. that had brought the two of them together. Danny had been pining after C.J. since the campaign trail. During one night of drinking, he'd sat next to Katie, whom he'd known since she'd been an intern at the New York Times, and was one of the few of the press corp who knew she was out, and they talked about the women working at the campaign. They had a private joke that they had the same taste in women, and as could be predicted, they both liked that gangly press secretary. When Carol joined them later that evening, Katie began asking leading questions about her boss, slowly working up to her sexual preference. As C.J. was a tall, Berkeley graduate, former Emily's-list employee and had an aura of mystery around her, both Danny and Katie felt they had a chance, in their game of make belief. Carol had sighed that she was sure that C.J. was straight, which elated Danny and piqued Katie's interest. Carol's subtle disappointment made Katie look at her in a different light, and slowly they became closer. At first, she wasn't sure if she'd imagined everything as Carol seemed to regard her as nothing more than a friend, but then after they won the primary Carol grabbed Katie and kissed her hard. They'd been together ever since.
"I kind of miss him," Carol said later that evening, as they lay together in bed.
"Danny?" Katie asked.
"Yeah," she gave a small chuckle, "you know somehow I always imagined the two of them together. I would envision the four of us having dinner parties and even go on holidays together…" her voice trailed off, "I'm being silly."
She looked embarrassed, but Katie moved her head from her neck so she could look at her.
"You're not silly. You're kind and beautiful and your friend's friend," Katie said determinately. She knew why this was a secret longing for Carol. She lived her life half hidden, and for her, the mere idea of being able to be completely open about her life with people she loved was a day-dream more than a reality. They had a few friends who knew them as a couple, but Carol was very private and was determined never to cause C.J. any trouble, which it most certainly would if it came out in the open.
✥✥✥✥
Danny threw his bag on his cold, un-inviting bed. He was barely ever in his, and he had never gotten around to leasing it out. This place was filled with memories of her. Not that she'd ever been in there, but she'd been constantly on his mind, and the last time he'd been here he'd packet his bag hurriedly and left — because of her. As he walked around the small apartment, shame washed over him as Katie's word reverberated in his head 'She slept in her office for days… she's finally happy.' He had been the source of her unhappiness; he knew it. And now she was being hunted from the sounds of it. He didn't buy Katie's words that this was about the Saudi comments. The C.J. he knew would never agree to secret service protection. She was too stubborn, too independent, too… He sighed. He knew that if she had protection than it had been assigned to her, she'd been unable to refuse. Probably Leo, or even the president. He was now pacing around the living room. What had happened?
tbc.
