CJ and Danny grew tired of exerting the energy to dance like they were in
cotillion way back when. It turned to them swaying to and fro. Seven minutes
soon passed by, and the song slowly faded away.

They let go, and Danny's attention was averted to the window where CJ's
balcony was. "It's beautiful out there."

"I'm sure it is." CJ opened the double doors and they spilled out to the
terrace. Danny took in his surroundings, as CJ stared dreamily at the moon.

"No matter how old I become, I will always remain mesmerized by the mystique
of the moon and stars."

"To be mystified by what we can not reach." Danny concluded.

"But it's more than that for me. I once wanted to be an astronaut, when I
was about 10 or so. It was something about the sheen ebony black with flecks
of light set against it. To be amongst such an unusual world."

Danny stared at her, there was more. "What? Oh yes, well, my first run in
with a guy when I was just about to graduate elementary school."

"Oh do tell." He grinned as he shifted his weight and put his elbow on the
balcony fencing and waited for her story.

"Well, this was naÔve CJ we're talking about. I was, what, 10. Chase was a
moron, I figured out later, but at the moment, he was the neatest thing that
ever stood on earth."

Danny chuckled. "In what way was he a moron?" "In every way. I learned this
after I said I would go out with him. He asked me the rules of kissing. No
joke."

Danny erupted in laughter. "And you gave him the stare."

"I don't know if that had fully evolved yet, but I was about to walk off in
disgust. That would have jarred him for life. But, this all happened under a
shady little tree house, with a blanket of stars in full view. It was a
beautiful night though, I'll never forget it."

"So what happened to Chase?"

"His idiot friend told him to break up with me because his friend had been
recently dumped and he didn't want to be the only bachelor. So I was duped.
BUT, we went out a month after that, again, for a month and I had the
liberty of dumping him." They both laughed.

There was a contemplating silence for a while. Again the city lights were
observed and they pondered silently.

"Tell me this," Danny asked.

"Tell you what?"

"Did you ever write poetry, not just for school, but beyond that?" "Why do
you ask that?"

"Your phrasing of things. 'blanket of stars', 'sheen ebony black', that's
why I ask."

"Well, I did in high school. It was a release from the literal world. I
worked hard in high school, with my honors schedule, and various other
things. I worked with the dramatic productions a lot in high school. This
took so many hours and exhausted my liking of people in general. I don't
write that kind of stuff anymore, not frequently, I mean."

CJ began to shiver lightly. "Are you cold?" Danny queried.

"It's becoming a little chilly out here."

"Would you like to go back inside?"

"If you don't mind, yes."

"Alright." Danny escorted CJ back into the living room and shut the doors.
As they walked inside, CJ began to yawn and stretch her back.

"It's getting kind of late, isn't it?" Danny announced.

"If you say so. It might actually be interesting to see what it's like to
have more than 6 hours of sleep, for once."

"Then I shall leave you to learn of such a luxury." Danny turned to wave his
goodbyes to Gail, and returned to the foyer.

"I've learned some very interesting things about you, Danny, but I haven't
heard nearly enough to equalize what I have shared."

"You're right CJ, and I planned it that way."

"You planned it that way."

"Yes, because I fully intend on seeing you again, very soon."

"How soon?"

"Is tomorrow alright?"

"I think so."

"What are we going to do?"

"Wait your twenty-four hours and you'll find out for yourself." They smiled.

"Should I meet you...?"

"Yeah, sure, at my place. 12:30: lunch, and then we'll go from there."

"I will need directions based on the fact that I'm not a stalker like other
people I know." CJ went to the kitchen and found a piece of paper and pen.
"Here."

"It's not that far from here, ten minutes with traffic." He scribbled down
the directions to his apartment and his number. "Well, I had a wonderful
time, and I thank you for everything."

"No problem. I guess this is goodnight."

"Goodnight CJ."

"'Night Danny." Before CJ opened the door, they moved closely together, as
he started for the door and she reached for the handle. Their eyes locked,
only to look down at each other's lips, and to near even closer. CJ and
Danny shared a kiss of thanks and promise. Nothing filled with incredible
sexual innuendo, but something to remember. The taste of the other warranted
a stay in the CJ and Danny's mouths, and that certainly was sweet
remembrance.

"Bye." Danny smiled.

"Bye." She smiled as well. CJ closed the door after she saw him off, closed
her eyes, and smiled. This was truly wonderful. It went very well, to say
the least. 'go-, was he endearing, attentive, funny, charming: simply Danny.
I wonder what tomorrow will hold?'

Danny arrived at his apartment with a smile still plastered on his face. CJ
looked as beautiful as ever, tonight. With each passing day, she grew more
gorgeous to him, if that was possible. As Danny thought of his (hopefully)
CJ, he poured brandy into a snifter and prepared for a night's rest. Danny
changed, turned off the lights, and while he lay in his bed, he thought even
more of CJ, planning for tomorrow. Danny's last action before went to sleep
was a whisper: "Goodnight CJ Gregg", and a kiss that he blew into the
midnight air.

5:30AM.

With a mind full of dreams categorized for revisiting, Danny Concannon woke
with a start. He needed to get to the paper to finish things up and be at
the White House for any little tidbit-all of this wrapping up by 11:45AM.
Danny chose casual clothes, and breezed into the kitchen for a little
nutri-grain bar for breakfast. With that he was off to work.

9:00AM

Rays of sun flooded through the blinds of CJ's bedroom that stood next to
the terrace and balcony of her apartment. Sleep. No doubt it was wonderful
to her. CJ's eyes flickered open and she stretched in bed. It was Saturday,
and another date with Danny was soon to ensue. She began to relive last
night's events. She hadn't had a good time like that with a guy in a very
long time. It was refreshing to CJ, to say the least.

CJ also did have things to do before she left for Danny's. A workout was in
store, of course, and she wanted to mow through a few memos and paperwork.
She didn't want to be completely undedicated to her work this weekend.

11AM

Danny's work had finished early. The White House was near dormant for the
while. Sam did the briefing, and it reminded Danny of his lunch date with
CJ...well, this actually gave him a reason to think of it. Sam made it short
and sweet, nothing hardly worth mentioning. On Danny's way out of the Press
Room, Sam quickly stopped Danny.

"Talked to CJ recently?"

"What do you mean by recently?"

"Last night perhaps?"

"Yes, we had dinner together."

"OK."

"OK?"

"Yeah. See you later Danny."

"See ya, Sam." This, his only glitch, Danny left the White House to return
home so that he could tidy up his apartment one last time.

12:15

CJ was dressed for the season, wearing Khaki capris, a yellow top with white
shirt underneath, and white Tommy Hilfiger sneaker mules. CJ looked
beautiful, and she felt good, too, because it allowed her to feel more free,
more like the "kid" in CJ. It was getting late, and CJ took one last look
in the mirror. She then headed out to her car. D.C. on a Saturday was
usually full of a good amount of traffic, but not today. CJ had already
memorized the directions to Danny's apartment...you know, in case of an
emergency or something.

The drive was short and soon CJ was standing in front of Danny's Apartment.
The complex was very well off, the landscaping and accommodations. All the
while as CJ went through the morning, she wondered what Danny had in store
beyond lunch. She was ready and willing for anything that might come into
play. CJ took in a deep breath, gained her courage, and knocked on the door.

"'Afternoon Danny."

"Hi CJ."

---------