The wistful feeling was gone by the next morning. C.J. was just feeling
washed out and tired. The breakfast meeting had gone well, she'd eaten
without really tasting the food. Everyone was in a hurry to end the day and
get out of town so there were no big sticking points to handle.
At least Ralph was back on duty at the garage. He gave C.J. a huge smile and
thanked her for the get well note she'd sent. Since there were so few cars,
he told her he'd park her car for her saving her a walk and some time. She
appreciated the gesture.
C.J. walked into the West Wing planning to put the lid on by 1:00 P.M. She
knew the President wasn't up to a full day's work but reporters wouldn't
know that. The shut down would be the reason for the early day.
An early day sounded wonderful to C.J. The sight of her assistant Carol was
also wonderful. She looked a bit pale but had C.J.'s morning already
organized. Carol had placed the replica of Big Ben in Gail's bowl.
C.J. welcomed her back and thanked her for taking care of the Goldfish. They
both laughed at the fish darting around Big Ben. "Gail seems to approve.",
Carol observed. "Looks like we'll be about one third full in the Press Room
today."
"Is Kendra Beach back today?", C.J. asked.
"No but there's a note for you with that name as the return address. Who is
she?" Carol posed the question as she handed C.J. her mail.
"One of the subs.", C.J. told her. "It was her first assignment. She was
very, shall we say thorough. I'll be anxious to see her story."
Carol smiled, "I'm sure you were very patient with her, as long as she
spelled everything correctly."
"Out." C.J. pointed to the door. C.J. noticed the sick room supplies were
nearly exhausted. But she decided to tempt fate figuring more people would
be returning than leaving sick.
The newspapers and network morning show summaries were full of the shut
down. Lots of doctors weighing in, people offering home remedies and an
evangelist saying Washington was hard hit because it housed so much evil.
C.J. tucked that quote aside for the President. He would get a kick out of
it.
She kept going through the papers and noticed Kendra Beach didn't have a
byline but the story was crisp and concise. The thank you note she'd sent to
C.J. was anything but, it overflowed with effusive praise for C.J.'s
patience and understanding. It was sent very promptly too. "A well brought
up woman.", C.J. mused. "She might have potential in this town."
A glance at the clock almost made C.J. head for Leo's office. She realized
there was no Senior Staff to meet with except for Toby. She called his
office and found him still barricaded with his hopes and herbal remedies.
They chatted about the day and he informed her the First Couple would be
heading to Camp David for the weekend.
That changed things in C.J.'s day and she added the item to her Briefing
notes. C.J. told Toby she was off to the Oval Office and would check in with
her later.
She got there just as the White House Photographer and Video Crew arrived.
Mrs. Landingham told them the President was due momentarily. She offered
cookies, counted noses and asked, "Where's Toby? Still tucked away?"
C.J. laughed, "Of course. He'll find me if he has any big concerns."
The phone on Mrs. Landingham's desk buzzed. She picked it up. After a second
she said, "Very well, sir. Thank you." She nodded to C.J. and the crews.
"You may go on in."
C.J. led the way into the Oval Office. The President was there in a suit and
tie but still looked washed out. C.J. thought he'd dropped some weight too.
It took a minute for the usual bounce to appear as he greeted everyone by
name.
The Press Secretary noticed Abigail Bartlet slip in as the President moved
toward his desk. The First Lady walked over to C.J and they exchanged warm
greetings. "Mrs. Bartlet, thank you for allowing this."
"C.J., don't let my husband hear you say that or we'll both be looking for
new jobs."
"How is he?", there was anxiety in C.J.'s tone.
"Fine, just having a hard time shaking this. We're going to Camp David and I
think being away will be a big boost. He hates that everyone else has been
working so hard because he was off the job."
The President's voice interrupted them. "If you two are done plotting the
overthrow of the Government, I need a hand here C.J."
"Yes, sir.", C.J. walked to the desk. "What Mr. President?"
"I'm tired of being a solo study so stand here and it'll be your turn to
share the spotlight."
"But sir.", C.J. protested.
"That's an order, Cregg."
"Yes, sir."
"Don't worry. Mrs. Landingham, Nancy, Carol, Ginger and Margaret will
all be trotted in here with papers and files."
"Mr. President, what about Toby?"
"Would serve the hypochondriac right. But I'd rather surround myself with
bright women."
The First Lady called out, "The professional imitating the personal."
"Perfection in all aspects of life.", he offered.
The tone remained light for the rest of the session. C.J. moved it along to
save the President's energy. She was pleased with the results and figured on
good coverage from it.
Her morning Briefing included a few more regulars back. She pushed the story
of the President back at work. Prints and video clips were available at the
session's end. Danny asked about a resumption of a full schedule for
President Bartlet. C.J. told the assembled media the only reason it wasn't
happening was "the President's desire to make the shut down effective." That
translated to an early lid.
The Briefing wrapped up with a question about Zoey. C.J. was able to report
she was back on the Georgetown Campus and eating dorm food again. Back in
classes on Monday.
On her return, C.J. found messages from Toby and Leo. Toby wanted to stay
cloistered. That meant C.J. now had his lunch with visiting Journalism
School Fellows on her schedule. She just groaned and realized a headache was
starting.
Leo's message was short but so sweet. It read, "Good job. I know you are on
your own with Toby behind closed doors. I feel like everything is in good
hands. Thank you."
C.J. would cherish that message, it made her proud. She decided to save it
and opened her top desk drawer to put it in a file. Plus something for a
headache was stashed in that drawer. As she grabbed for the bottle, she
noticed something else inside.
C.J. found chocolates in the shape of tiny wooden shoes. Danny had struck
again. A note read, "I'd rather put these on your pillow like they do in
the best hotels, for now this will have to do." C.J. put the note into a
safe place but left the chocolates where they were. She found it hard to get
her mind back on work.
The feeling persisted through the day, C.J. was trying to figure what to do
next. The luncheon meeting in the Conference Room went well, C.J. supposed.
The Journalism Fellows were full of high spirits despite the fact the White
House and Washington were basically deserted. It was louder than the usual
Conference Room gatherings or maybe her headache was just worse.
The Press Secretary kicked the 1:00 P.M. Briefing back a half hour to work
the President's departure into it. She told the Press Corps the lid was on
as soon as Chopper One took off for Camp David. Everyone seemed anxious to
hit that point so the session was quick.
As the media and staff gathered on the lawn to watch the First Couple
depart, C.J. went to the Oval Office. She suggested to President Bartlet to
just keep moving and ignore any questions. He was about to contradict her
when the First Lady stepped in. "Don't worry, C.J., we're out of here. The
President will keep quiet or he'll put up with silence from me all weekend."
Bartlet laughed, "Now what's the down side to that?"
C.J. headed outside without a coat as she usually did. The President did
follow "orders" and ignored all questions. He performed the standard turn
and wave at the Chopper door. It was one of the best parts of life at the
White House. But for some reason, C.J. didn't get the usual feeling of
elation.
She shivered a bit as she moved inside. There was a rush toward the exits,
the weekend was under way for some lucky ones. C.J. knew some of the Senior
Staffers would be in this weekend. She figured she would have to join them.
Sam stuck his head in her office just as she got to her desk. He was in
casual clothes that looked a little rumpled, a bit of stubble on his face
and his glasses on. But he looked beautiful to C.J., at last someone else in
the West Wing.
He carried in a bag of supplies with a cheery greeting. They were
replacements for the sick room stash. C.J. was delighted by the
thoughtfulness and said so. Sam told her. "It's no big deal. You saved my
life by having this stuff here. It helped Mallory and Leo too."
C.J. asked about both of them. As expected, Leo would be in tomorrow.
Mallory planned to be back in the classroom when school reopened on Monday.
C.J. knew she should have felt happy. But all she felt was tired.
It caught Sam's eye. "C.J. when are you getting out of here? No offense, but
you look bad."
"Thanks, Sam. I'd forgotten how much I missed your suave manner. I have a
few more things to do."
"Let me help. What can I do?"
"You my friend, get to deal with Toby in his ivory tower."
Sam groaned, "I think I'm having a relapse."
"Forget it." C.J. ordered. "He's all yours."
They ran through a few more items, then Sam headed over to his office. Carol
was the next to take her leave. But she promised to be back in the morning.
C.J. didn't want to think that far ahead. She still had work left today. But
try as she might, nothing seemed to be getting done.
Several hours later, Danny Concannon tapped on the door of the partially
darkened office. He found C.J. with stacks of papers on the desk and her
head in her hands. She didn't look up until he approached her desk and sat
down.
"Danny, you're not supposed to be back here. What do you want?"
"I know. I was looking for you, to invite you to dinner."
"What time is it?", C.J. looked at her watch. "It can't be 6 o'clock, I lost
track of the time."
"C.J. what's wrong?"
"I'm fine except I have a ton of work, a headache and..." She stopped and
looked up. "Danny, just go away. I'm not in the mood for teasing and I'm not
armed for a battle of wits."
"I can see that.", he said softly and left. C.J. was surprised he gave up
that quickly. But now she could go back to work. It wasn't easy though
because the office felt like a sauna and she couldn't get the words on the
page to make sense.
Danny hadn't gone far. He looked for Carol but noticed her things were
missing, obviously she'd gone for the day. Danny knew he had to get C.J.
home but needed help. To get his car onto the White House grounds required
top security assistance. He thought for a minute and then snapped his
fingers.
He moved to Carol's desk and punched a number. A second later, he heard a
crisp voice say, "Oval Office."
Danny took a deep breath and prayed he could be charming. "Mrs. Landingham,
this is Danny Concannon, a reporter...."
"I know who you are, Mr. Concannon and I know you've worked here long enough
to know media calls go through C.J. Cregg." There was ice in the
Presidential secretary's voice.
Danny made an attempt to melt that ice. "You're right. I'm calling from
C.J.'s office, it's about C.J. I need some help on her behalf."
"Go on." Mrs. Landingham waited to hear more.
"She's sick, Mrs. Landingham and I'll like to make sure she gets home
safely. There's no one else who can take her. I need to get my car to the
West Wing door."
"I see." Danny could hear that her voice sounded a lot warmer. "Danny, give
me a minute and I'll have an answer. Are you in C.J.'s office?"
"No, ma'am. I'm at Carol's desk. C.J. really doesn't want company."
Mrs. Landingham was full of sympathy now. "She's a dear, this week she has
worked way too hard. I'll call you shortly."
Danny heard a click. He wanted to check on C.J. but didn't dare leave the
phone. He knew it would be another battle to get C.J. to accept his help.
"One fight at a time.", he told himself.
After a few minutes, Carol's phone buzzed. Danny grabbed it, "Yes."
"Danny, this is Mrs. Landingham. A Secret Service Agent will meet you at the
West Wing entrance within 5 minutes. He will make sure your car gets to the
proper door."
"Thank you." Danny breathed a sigh relief. "Can he bring C.J. out?"
"I'll take care of that myself, she'll be there when you arrive.", Mrs.
Landingham said.
"You're an angel.", he told her as he hung up the phone. Danny quickly
grabbed his coat and put it on as he headed into C.J.'s office. She had her
desk light on now and was reading. The throw from her couch was wrapped
around her but she was still shivering.
"Get your stuff together, feed the fish, you're out of here." Danny was in
fast forward mode.
C.J. was functioning at a much slower speed. "I thought you'd left, I told
you to leave."
"I did, but not for good. Come on feed the fish, I'm taking you home. In
case you don't know it yet, you're sick."
"Danny, I'm not sick, I don't get sick. I'm just tired. I don't need or want
anyone fussing over me."
"Fine, have it your way. I'm going to my car. Greater powers than I have
will deal with the likes of you. Don't say you weren't warned."
Danny left the room as she muttered, "Crazy idiot."
He made it to the West Wing door with seconds to spare. He recognized the
Secret Service Agent from Mrs. Landingham's detail. The two men introduced
themselves, shook hands and Danny signed out. Within 10 minutes, he was back
on the Grounds and pulling up to the West Wing entrance. His escort told him
to stay in the car, he'd bring C.J. out.
Danny saw Mrs. Landingham first with C.J. in tow. The President's secretary
handed the Agent C.J.'s briefcase and a large brown shopping bag. He opened
the door to Danny's car. "Mrs. Landingham had the Chef send along some
chicken broth and chicken noodle soup. You are to see it gets into the
refrigerator.
"Yes, sir." Danny saluted and both men grinned. Danny started to get out of
the car to help C.J. The Agent waved him off for security reasons, Danny
had to stay put.
The Agent turned back to the doorway to assist C.J. He handed her into the
car and told her he hoped she felt better soon. Then with a wave it was,
"See you next week Danny."
"Right, I'll leave a message on where we'll meet." He was already turning
his attention to C.J. She looked bewildered and a bit lost.