Chapter Five

The staff meeting had been uneventful, Josh and Sam were hungover, Toby was writing a speech in his head and Leo was trying to run through a schedule. CJ was concentrating on Josh and kept shaking her head stifling giggles. She caught Leo's eye and shook her head some more. The connecting door opened and the President stepped through. They all rose rapidly and stood as he paced around the room.

'Sorry to interrupt but there's a matter of urgency. The advance party are all off sick and the Paris trip is less than a fortnight away. I need a team to go ahead, Leo you had better lead seeing as the trip was your idea. CJ you can accompany him, Simon could do with a little practice in the press room.'

CJ began to object but he waved her off, 'Abbey would love to spend time with Grace and you'll only be a few days.'

He glanced around the room and seeing no resistance turned and left, calling over his shoulder, 'You leave tomorrow.'

Leo glanced across at CJ who grimaced in response.

They sat side by side on the plane, Leo reading while CJ watched the onboard movie, neither really saying much. He had been with her that morning as she handed over their daughter to Abbey and said goodbye. She had been strangely silent in the car, fighting with tears at the prospect of leaving her behind for the first time. Leo had reached over and squeezed her hand and she had allowed him to do so, smiling sadly at him. He turned to her and glanced at the monitor.

'You're watching a sci fi movie, you hate that crap.'

CJ removed the headphones, 'it was either that or a romantic comedy. How long before we land?'

'Two hours. There's a satellite phone if you want to...' he let the sentence hang.

She shook her head and pushed a stray hair behind her ears, 'no, I’ll only start crying again.'

'Do you want me to?'

'Abbey's not going to appreciate us checking up.'

'If it will put your mind at rest. And mine for that matter.' Leo inserted his credit card into the slot and pulled out the phone. He dialled the number for the residence and gave the codeword. Seconds later he was connected and Abbey came on the phone.

'Actually it's me Abbey... Yes she's fine... How's Grace?.... Did she take her milk?.. okay... And you gave her Toby... I meant her bear... Okay... We'll phone before we go to bed... I'll tell her.'

Leo slotted the phone back into the slot and turned to his companion, 'Grace's had her milk, they've been for a walk around the West Wing and she's asleep with Toby. Abbey says to remind you she's mother to three girls, is a certified MD and has the secret service living upstairs, so stop worrying.'

CJ grinned and reached over to pat his hand, 'Does it get any easier as they get older?'

He shook his head, 'Nah, you just get more adept at concealing the fact you're worrying. I still wish Mal would phone every night, and if she would keep from dating I wouldn't have quite so many wrinkles.' He noted she hadn't moved her hand, 'Of course now I’m going to go through it all again with Gracie.'

'You'll always be part of her life, Leo. I wouldn't prevent that.' She moved her hand up to squeeze his arm and linked her arm with his, settling back to watch the movie. They sat like that until the plane landed and they were met at the gate by an embassy official. Clearing customs and grabbing their luggage was straightforward and a car was waiting for them. CJ hadn't been to Paris before and settled back to watch the streets fly by. Leo was deep in conversation with the official and failed to notice they weren't heading for the embassy until they pulled up outside the Hilton. He glanced out of the window and looked back at his companion.

'We're not staying at the Embassy?'

'No, I thought you knew Mr McGarry. The travel office phoned and had us book a suite here.'

CJ stepped out of the car and stretched her long legs, 'Leo, this smells decidedly fishy. It would take someone cunning, crafty and with connections to plot this.'

They spoke together, 'Abbey.'

The official signed them in and set up a diplomatic account before showing them up to the room. The suite faced on to the Eiffel Tower, the door opening into the main room, furnished in antique reds and soft furnishings, off of it were two rooms, each with a Kingside bed and ensuite. Left alone they both disappeared into their rooms and seconds later Leo heard the shower running. He removed his jacket and kicked off his shoes, settling back onto the couch and checking in with his office. He didn't hear her enter until she flopped down next to him in a white bathrobe. She waited while he completed the call,

'Anything?' He shook his head. 'Want to eat in or out?'

Leo browsed her outfit, 'I think we'd better order in.' He took the menu from the side and began to call out items. They both picked the chicken and ordered a bottle of water. While they waited CJ took out her laptop and checked for messages. Leo joined her minutes later showered and changed into cords and a sweater.

‘The next two days are pretty light, nearly everything is set up.’

CJ sighed, ‘In other words we don’t need to be here.’

‘Yeah.’ He stopped as there was a knock on the door and the bellboy wheeled in a trolley of food. Leo closed the door behind him and placed the meal on the table.

‘Have you ever been to Paris before?’ he asked.

CJ shook her head and seated herself opposite him, ‘No.’

‘Tomorrow afternoon we’ll take a quick tour, might as well make the most of it.’

They ate in silence as the lights twinkled on the tower.

‘Abbey has good taste.’

‘Urh,’ he muttered, a fork full of pasta entering his mouth. Swallowing he tried again, ‘About what?’

CJ lifted her napkin from her lap and reached across the table, running the linen down his chin, catching the dribble of sauce. ‘I know where Gracie gets her eating habits from now. Abbey, I meant the setting, expensive hotel, view of the Eiffel Tower, the most romantic city in the world. I’m just surprised she sent us and not you and Ainsley and me and Josh.’

‘You’d rather be here with him?’ he asked, jealousy sparking in his eyes.

‘That’s not what I said. Under the circumstances sending us away together isn’t the most sensible idea,’ she could see him tensing up and everything she said seemed to make it worse. ‘It’s not as if we are about to get married or anything.’

Leo finally snapped. He rose rapidly and grabbed his jacket from the chair.

‘I’m going to get some fresh air,’ he said slamming the door behind him.

CJ watched him go in bewilderment. She wasn’t even sure what she had said to make him so upset. One minute Abbey was trying to pair them all off and now she was sending them on a romantic break. There seemed only one logical step to take. Crossing the room CJ picked up the phone and dialled the international number. The switchboard took a few moments to locate the First Lady and CJ was getting more uptight by the second.

‘Abbey,’ she finally stammered when she picked up.

‘Whoa CJ. Gracie’s fine, as we speak Donna’s playing with her in the bedroom. Are you okay?’

CJ took a deep breath and plunged forward, ‘Be honest with me. Did you organise this little trip? What possessed you to send us together? He’s mad at me about something and I don’t know what I’ve done. It was a one off Abbey, he probably regrets it more than anything. We don’t have to be together just for Gracie, it’s not going to happen.’ She stopped and took a deep breath.

Abbey settled herself on the other continent and grinned, ‘better now you’ve got that off your chest?’

‘ABBEY.’

‘CJ, yes I organised the trip, I thought you should spend some time together away from Gracie. And just for the record he doesn’t regret what happened.’ She paused, ‘Oh hell, there’s been too many secrets around here. He wants to wait four years.’

CJ slipped back onto the couch, ‘For what exactly?’

‘And I thought it was just the boys who were blind. You. He’s in love with you, he wants to take care of both of you. And if there was no Grace he wouldn’t be waiting. These men are far too worried about perception.’

There was silence at the other end.

‘CJ, you still there.’

‘Yeah,’ came a mumbled reply, ‘I need to go and think.’ 

Chapter Six

Leo walked for an hour, ignoring the hustle and bustle and sticking to the side streets. He couldn’t let her see how she’d hurt him. Before that night she had been a friend he cared about, but seeing her pregnant and raising their child, being a part of her life had made everything so clear. He was in love with her, hell if he had been a little quicker he would have married her and they could have brought Grace up together. She had made it clear tonight there would be no future beyond that of his role in Grace’s life. There was no longer any need to worry about four years, she would marry someone else and he would always be Uncle Leo. Once they were no longer alone he would work on coming to terms with that, right now he had to face the fact they had three days alone. He headed back to the hotel, the craggy lines worn that bit deeper and his heart somewhat heavier.

The room was in darkness when he entered and he reached to flick the light switch. Before his hand made contact the lamp on the side table lit the room. CJ sat on the couch, her hair clipped back, the gown exchanged for track pants and a sweater. He stared at her and said the first thing that came to mind.

‘I thought you would be asleep.’

‘Actually I was thinking of coming looking for you, but you know strange city, lone woman, not one of my best ideas.’

He continued to walk in the direction of the bedroom, ‘I’m going to get my head down.’

‘I’ve spoken to Abbey.’

That stopped him, something in her tone told him they wouldn’t be going to bed anytime soon.

He made his way around the couch and sat in the armchair. ‘And?’

‘You want the direct approach?’ she asked crossing her arms.

Leo shrugged and watched CJ begin talking with her arms. His mind rushed back to the night on the couch, those same fingers stroking him, pulling at his shoulders. He tried to concentrate on what she was saying but memories were flooding back.

‘She has this delusion that you’re in love with me.’ Okay that got his attention. ‘Of course that’s absurd. If it were true you would have told me.’

‘I would?’

It was definitely a bad sign that CJ chose to stand up and tower above him, ‘We’re friends, we have a daughter, there shouldn’t be secrets. Of course if you had asked me how I felt I couldn’t have told you.’

Leo looked up at her desperately trying to come up with a way to end this.

‘So while I’ve been waiting for you to come back and wondering if phoning the gendarmes was drastic I gave it some thought.’

‘Really?’ He asked, ‘Any conclusions?’ If they were having this conversation she couldn’t be totally repulsed by the idea.

CJ smirked, ‘There’s just one thing I need to do before I can be sure.’

He waited, and watched as she dropped to her knees and leaned towards him, ‘You should know there’s a lot riding on what you do next,’ she whispered.

He looked into her eyes briefly before his hand tangled in her hair and gently tugged her towards him. His lips sought hers, planning on a gentle grazing. When they met CJ applied pressure and he responded in kind, desperate and deep. They kissed for seconds before she pulled away.

Leo cocked his head and watched her.

‘Well, you know. I think I could quite easily fall head over heels.’

Leo moved to his knees and wrapped his arms around her pulling her towards him as his lips once again sought hers.

Epilogue

‘So you’re really taking a week off?’ Josh asked bouncing around the office. ‘I mean you only have twenty eight to take.’

‘Josh,’ Toby growled, ‘You’re giving me motion sickness.’

Leo looked around the room and caught CJ’s eye, she smiled back and continued to bounce Grace on her knee.

‘We may be back sooner. It depends how much we miss Gracie.’

‘Geez Leo, stop panicking, there aren’t many kids who have a doctor and President for babysitters, armed guards and any number of willing playmates.’

CJ looked at her watch, ‘We should go if we’re going to make the plane.’ She turned to the three assembled men and one woman. ‘Try and keep out of trouble while we’re gone. No one night stands, no getting drunk and please try to play nicely with the Christian Right, Josh. And as for the rest of you if I hear of the slightest hiccup it will not be pleasant. Donna, you’re in charge.’

Donna nodded, ’The assistants have everything in hand.’ She paused as the three grown men groaned. ’Gracie, want to go get ice cream.’

Grace jumped from her mother’s lap, started to dash across the room then stopped and ran to hug her mother. Leo took her from her mother’s neck kissed her and handed her back to Donna. Donna headed down the corridor with Gracie. Just as they were leaving the room all heard in the smallest child’s voice,

‘When they get back he’s going to be my daddy.’

They didn’t wait to see if it registered instead rushing down the corridor to the awaiting car.

They sat on the plane holding hands, sipping mineral water and watching the latest sappy romance. Leo turned his head to look at her, she was beautiful, and he would never tire looking at her.

‘CJ, do you think they heard?’

She turned to him, ’Are you kidding, the whole White House probably knows by now. You shouldn’t have told her.’

He reached over and patted her stomach, ’I wanted her to know she was my daughter as much as the next one will be.’

CJ placed a hand on top of his, and grinned.

The plane touched down at Charles De Gaulle and they took a cab to the hotel. The bellboy showed them up to the suite and left them alone. CJ was staring out of the window while he unpacked the luggage.

‘CJ, I think you might be right?’ he called.

‘I generally am. About what in particular this time?’ she called entering the bedroom.

On the middle of the bed lay the biggest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen, an equally large box of chocolates and a red box. Sitting down she pulled off the ribbon and lifted the lid. In amongst the satin lay a sheer black negligee and a fax.

CJ giggled, ‘we are so busted. To the happy couple. Hope you have a great day. Something for the wedding night. Jed and Abbey.’

She held up the garment for him to see.

‘Forget the wedding night, I want to see it now,’ he whispered carefully removing the gifts from the bed.

CJ tossed the box across the room and reached over to grab his tie pulling him down with her, ‘If I wear it now with you like this there won’t be much of it left for the wedding night.’

With that she began kissing him, her hands removing their clothes and throwing them to join the box.

And that was how they spent their last night as CJ Cregg and Leo McGarry. The following day they crossed the square to the old town hall where they stood before the local justice and each pledged themselves to the other for the rest of their lives.

The End