Title: Story Of Us

Rating: R

Summary: Another time was before them, before they accidentally found love and in so doing became us.

Spoilers: Up to and including Season three to be safe.

The Story Of Us

Chapter One

He watched her from across the Ballroom, dancing with the newly sworn in Vice President. Her hair was pulled back off her face, the tiniest of tendrils falling onto her face, revealing the simple gold earrings she liked. She was laughing and throwing her hair back at some inane comment, and the redness of hair reflected the lights around the room. He had watched as she had slipped into the gown, the jade green bodice figure hugging to below her waist and the full skirt fanning around her as she danced. At fifty she was still the sexiest woman he had ever loved and with each day that passed he truly loved her more. As they span around the room towards him he stepped out and took her arm.

‘Sam, would you mind if I danced with my wife?’ He asked watching as her breathing altered with his touch.

‘Sure, I need to find my wife anyway,’ Sam kissed her sweetly on the cheek and moved into the throng of people.

Leo slipped his arm around her waist pulling her close to his body, with the other he took her left hand, the one that held the plain gold band and emerald engagement ring. They moved as one, only a fraction of space between their bodies, his head against her shoulder.

‘You look wonderful tonight. It takes me back to another time.’

She nodded and blew a kiss against his ear. Another time was before them, before they accidentally found love and in so doing became us.

She remembers it as January, though it may have been February. The snow had stopped falling in DC, to be replaced with spring showers. The primaries had started, with all that they brought. There were meetings and dinners, fundraisers and rallies and polls. Mostly they talked of approval ratings, that they bounced up and down was to be expected, that the troughs were so great and the peaks so low was saddening. In staff they strategised, in campaign meetings they argued until finally in a moment of madness Toby gave them the answer.

‘You know what the press likes more than anything?’ He growled.

‘Bitchslapping the Bartlet Administration?’ She asked in reply.

‘That’s the White House Press Corp. I was thinking more the National Press,’ they all turned to look at him in wonder. ‘A wedding.’

‘A wedding?’ she exclaimed. ‘Why Toby I thought you would never ask,’ she added coyly.’

Toby just stared at her, exasperated, ‘I was actually talking in general. A White House wedding, a Hollywood wedding, the papers wouldn’t be able to get enough. With all the talk of engagements, and weddings and interior design…’ he waved his hand in the air as if to explain.

‘…the Press would lose sight of the other stuff,’ she finished for him.

Toby sighed, ’22 years of education and you can’t do better than stuff.’

Leo rose from his chair, ‘Okay everyone, that’s enough mayhem for today, lets move on.’

And so they had, to schedules and Bills, and later CJ had sat in her office and pondered Toby’s words. By two in the morning with the briefings unread she had finally decided it wasn’t all that crazy after all. If one of them got married she could easily spin it with the Press and take the emphasis off the past mistakes. The only problem she could think of was that none of them were dating, not obviously anyway, and that was when she chose to be the one. It had been her slip up that had caused them problems with Haiti, and her that had saved them from Grand Juries, it seemed only right that it should be her to save them again. Her thoughts then turned to her fiancé of sorts.

Chapter Two

She had arrived for Staff the next day with minutes to spare. The others were all waiting as she slid onto Leo’s couch. As the others talked of business she studied them. Sam was too young and too pretty for anyone to believe they would get married. Josh, well everyone in Washington knew he loved Donna and they were odds on favourite to get engaged on Election Day. Toby had been her best friend for years and even though they enjoyed the banter and the flirting she wasn’t sure they could pretend to be married and not kill each other, and that wouldn’t look good in the press. She turned to find Leo staring at her, a lopsided grin on his face. He turned away when they locked eyes. She had been right the night before, Leo and her could pull it off, they complemented each other nicely. Josh was talking to her and it took a few seconds for her to understand and reply. Minutes later the meeting was over and the others began to file out. She stopped as she passed Leo’s desk and waited for him to look up from his papers. Leo took his glasses off and faced her.

‘Zoning out there a little, CJ.’

She shrugged, ‘Leo, Toby’s wedding thing?’

‘He’s finally lost the plot.

CJ crossed the room and closed the door. ‘Maybe not. I gave it some thought last night, and well…I’m willing to do it.’

He looked at her with a mixture of surprise and amusement, ‘And whom are you planning to marry?’

CJ grinned her widest grin, ‘You.’

Leo jumped up and sat back down. ‘Jesus CJ, give a man a heartattack.’

‘It makes sense. We get on well. Work doesn’t affect our friendship. I could pretend without killing you.’

‘Are you crazy?’

‘I work here, don’t I?’

‘You’ve thought this through. Why not one of the others? Toby?’ He asked, still slightly in shock.

CJ shook her head, ‘We’d be in the divorce courts in a month or I’d be in prison for killing him. Sam is way too pretty and Josh, I don’t even want to go there.’

Leo stared at the beautiful, intelligent Press Secretary and shook his head. He couldn’t believe she was suggesting this, more than that he couldn’t believe he was even considering it.

She was still staring at him, waiting for an answer, eyes bright as she could sense the thoughts running through his mind.

‘CJ. I’ll come find you when I’ve given this some thought.’

It had taken him two days to draw his conclusions and he had sought her out in her office. Sitting behind her desk with her glasses on and feet resting on the wood surface she was studying transcripts from her briefing. She jumped slightly at the knock but invited him in without looking.

He simply said, ‘How does a July wedding sound?’

CJ had looked up sending her papers flying, ‘Really?’

‘What do we do next?’

‘Close the door.’

Chapter Three

A week later they sat in her apartment drinking cider and eating Chinese take out.

‘So here’s what I’ve got. We met in New Hampshire on the campaign. We’ve been good friends ever since, during the hearings our friendship developed into something more. Now the proposal.’

Leo put the chopsticks down, ‘I surprised you. Took you out for dinner and popped the question.’

‘No romance, flowers?’ she teased.

‘Of course, as romantic as you want. Do you think they will ask about our first night of passion?’ He teased back.

CJ blushed, ‘LEO. And we’re marrying in July.’

He tapped his thigh with his fingers and considered things for a moment. ‘We wanted to be together all the time and being catholic.., no evidence impropriety, etc. You know it’s going to have to be quite some wedding, don’t you?’

Leo had to admit he was enjoying this, spending time with her, planning something other than campaigning. And he rather liked the idea of being married to the woman curled up next to him. It was the first time he had been in the apartment and the guided tour had been brief, but there was time for the intimate details later. She was at present on the end of the couch in sweats and a Yankees T-shirt, no doubt a gift from Toby, her hair clipped back with her glasses resting on the end of her nose. She looked relaxed and rather adorable. After they were married it was something he would have to get used to, and there were still things they needed to sort out. For a moment he doubted the sense of it all.

‘Are you sure about this?’

CJ looked up from her notes; ‘You changed your mind?’

He shook his head and she smiled, ‘What’s next?’

‘We tell the press in a week, the staff in three days, this weekend I buy the ring?’ He listed as though he was preparing a Bill. ‘That okay?’

‘Yeah we can have dinner Saturday.’

Leo got up and started to pick up the empty cartons, ‘I’d better go, I’ve got papers to read.’

CJ rose with him, ‘It’s okay. I’ll clear up. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Leo picked up his coat and wrapped it around him. Leaning forward he pressed his lips on her cheek. ‘Goodnight CJ.’

‘Night Leo.’

CJ closed the door behind him and continued to clear up the dishes, smiling to herself.

Chapter Four

It was raining Saturday when she woke up. CJ switched on the coffee machine and flipped on the remote. CNN blared out as she moved around the house clearing papers and making breakfast. When she emerged from the kitchen in her flannel pyjamas, coffee in hand, the anchor was recapping the last week in the Bartlet campaign. She watched from the doorway as they showed clips of her briefing and of the President boarding Air Force One. The doorbell rang and she crossed the carpet to open it. She couldn’t see the guy’s face for the array of ivory blooms he held. Taking the bouquet CJ turned to rummage in her coat for a tip, when she turned back he had gone. CJ placed the flowers on the table and took out the card.

‘Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance’. Oscar Wilde.

CJ smiled in spite of herself, they may only have an agreement but she was enjoying the attention that went with it. The rest of the day she spent in her office trying to plough through the ever increasing mountain of work and avoiding the boys as they goofed off in the halls.

At five thirty CJ called it a day and headed home. For the next hour CJ submerged herself in a bath of bubbles, washing her hair in the freesia shampoo she loved and applied her make up. She was still hunting through her wardrobe when he knocked on the door. Pulling her robe around her she opened it. Leo stood on the threshold his hands behind his back.

‘I’m early,’ he stated.

‘Yeah. Come in. I’ll get dressed.’ She moved to step away and he stopped her.

‘These are for you.’

She took the box from him and laughed at the small heart shaped chocolates.

He shrugged as she disappeared into the bedroom laughing at how cute he was. When she reappeared a few minutes later she was dressed in a simple charcoal grey kneelength dress. He grabbed her coat from the coat rack before she could and helped her into it. Flicking off the lights CJ motioned to the door and they headed off into the night.

The waiter showed them to a quiet table and went off to get them their drinks.

‘I didn’t expect this,’ she whispered.

He shrugged, ‘If I’m going to propose I want to do it right.’ When he smiled then she forgot the arrangement and began to relax.

‘The flowers were beautiful. I liked the quote.’

Leo smiled and glanced around the room. ‘I was going for sappy but when I saw it I thought of you. I keep expecting someone from the office to walk in.’

CJ glanced around the room and noticed a few Congressmen but they were too engaged in their companions to notice an overly tall Press Secretary and the Chief of Staff. ‘Leo, it’s the most expensive restaurant in DC, most of the staff couldn’t afford it, and those that could haven’t got a romantic bone in their bodies. Relax. We’re supposed to be in love remember.’ She flushed slightly at the word love and concentrated on the menu.

Before either could say anything else the waiter appeared to take their order. That done the conversation turned to families and work, as they slowly opened up. Over dinner they talked of work, and it was only as the desert trolley stopped at their table that Leo remembered why they were there.

CJ licked her lips and grinned; ‘You know what blow the diet, Chocolate cheesecake it is.’

Leo passed on desert and watched as the waiter passed over two sets of cutlery ‘just in case’.

He watched as she broke a small piece of the crumbly desert off with her fork and scooped it in the direction of her mouth. She paused as she noted he was watching her.

‘Leo? You want some?’

He shook his head but the fork moved towards him and stopped inches from his mouth. He was going to refuse again but she cocked her head on oneside and gave him The Look. He opened his mouth and she slid it in. He watched as she sliced another piece and slid the fork into her own mouth. He realised then that she had no idea what she did to men. He hadn’t been joking when he had told her that the Four Seasons was full of men she had rejected. Half of Washington wanted to bed her and not just because of her position.

‘You’re staring at me.’

‘Nah. I’m just waiting for seconds.’

‘Sorry Leo,’ she replied looking down at the last few crumbs on the plate, ‘We can order more.’

He shook his head and put his hand into his pocket.

‘CJ, if we were doing this properly I’d have a string quartet, champagne and a damned romantic speech prepared. But I’m no speechwriter, I don’t drink and the music can wait for the wedding. So this will have to do.’ He took a breath and took her hand.

They both stared at the entwined hands and back at each other. For a few minutes both realised it wasn’t a game, if they went through with this it was going all the way, but that even though they weren’t in love it was the right thing for both of them.

‘Claudia, I consider myself very lucky to be able to call you my friend. You’re intelligent, funny, compassionate, and beautiful in every sense of the word. And if anyone had told me four and a half years ago I would have been about to become the luckiest man alive I would have laughed. It never seemed possible you would marry someone like me. I will take care of you, respect you and always value your friendship. So will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’

He smiled at her and she smiled back.

‘Yes. That was pretty romantic Leo.’

Leo pulled the small green box from his pocket and slid it across the table. CJ looked at it for a second and slid it back. Leo’s face dropped.

‘Do it properly.’

He opened the box and lifted the ring from the cushioned setting, taking her hand in his he slid it on to her finger. CJ gasped at the sight of it, a plain gold band, with a setting of green emeralds that sparkled in the light.

‘It’s beautiful Leo…. But so expensive….I can’t…,’ she faltered.

Leo squeezed her hands, ‘You can, whatever the situation is, you deserve the best.’ He summoned the waiter over to request the bill.

‘Thank you,’ was all she could manage.

Leo paid the bill and helped her into her coat. Leaving a sizeable tip he escorted her back to the car. CJ spent the journey staring at the sparkling band on her middle finger, and didn’t look up until they pulled up at the apartment.

‘Oh we’re home. Would you like to come in?’ she asked motioning with her arm.

‘No, it’s late. We need to tell the President tomorrow.’

‘Yes, we do. I’ll see you in the morning.’ CJ leaned across the seat and kissed him lightly on the cheek. As she pulled back she noticed the light flush on his skin, and made a split second decision. Moving slightly she lowered her lips to his and pressed gently before pulling back and getting out of the car.

As he watched her climb the steps and disappear inside he felt the flush on his face and the slight stirring in his stomach. All manner of thoughts crossed his mind, the most prominent of which was that he was going to have to be very careful, it was after all a marriage of convenience and he would have to keep his school boy lust under control. He started the car and headed back to the hotel.