Disclaimer: *sigh*

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"Danny." CJ called from her bedroom.

He came to the door. "Yeah?"

"Can you help me button this? My eyes are still playing tricks on me."

He perused her outfit, stirrup pants with a button-down fleece. "You're the best looking sick person I've ever seen."

She glanced at the outfit, then up at him, confused. "Pants and a fleece?"

"Your legs look really good in those tight pants."

CJ blushed and looked down.

He walked over and began to button her shirt. "They go on forever, your legs. And this soft shirt, makes me think about how much softer your skin is under this."

CJ took a deep breath. "We shouldn't be having this conversation while I'm sick."

"Then we'll have it when you're well."

Her head shot up and her eyes met his. "Okay," she whispered.

He smiled and finished fiddling with her shirt. "Why don't we get you covered, then we'll open some windows to get you some fresh air."

"Okay."

"Wow, Ms. Agreeable, should I push my luck today?"

CJ laughed and latched onto him as he steadied her for the walk to the living room. He noticed she seemed to have used up a lot of strength just drying her hair and was glad to settle her on the couch and cover her with blankets.

"Tell me if you get cold."

"After all these years with President Bartlet, I think I can stand a good amount of cold air."

Danny laughed with her. "Ah, so true."

A knock on the door had CJ sighing. "Unleash the hounds."

Danny smiled as he made his way to the door, opening it to Toby and Sam. "Hey guys."

"How's she doing?" Toby demanded.

"Much better." Danny assured him. "Come in." He closed the door and followed them into the living room, where they were greeting CJ.

"Stop hovering," CJ told them. "Sit down."

Toby and Sam both sat, but Danny told her, "I'll be back in a little bit. Have a nice visit."

"Danny?" He turned back to CJ.

"I'm sure Toby has things he'd rather I not be here for, even if I assure him I won't write about it. I'm going to go home and swing by the paper. I'll be back in two hours, tops." Danny grabbed his coat and bag.

Toby nearly smiled at him as he and Sam assured him they'd stay until he returned.

"I'm not deaf, guys." CJ complained. "Or breakable. I can be left by myself."

Danny caught her eyes and smiled. "But didn't you say before that-"

"Go!" She cut him off quickly. "We'll be fine here."

Danny grinned as he left them.

"CJ?"

She sighed. "I'm fine Toby. I'm feeling much better, I might be back tomorrow."

He nodded. "Have you seen any briefings?"

"No," she answered, looking puzzled as she realized she hadn't even thought of it. "I hope Josh didn't get in there again."

Toby chuckled. "Sam and I barricaded him in his office before each briefing."

CJ smiled at them both. "Thanks for that."

Toby nodded. "You should know what's been going on. Nothing major, don't worry."

"Okay." She listened as he told her about the day, mentally counting the minutes that Danny was gone. She had to force herself to listen several times, waiting for him to return. By the time he got back, they had long finished discussing important events from the West Wing and were onto stories about their co-workers.

"He did not!" CJ accused Sam through her laughs. She coughed a few times, then continued. "You're making that up."

"You don't believe Josh would tell the First Lady that?"

"I absolutely do not!"

"Well, he didn't know she was there. She was standing behind him."

CJ laughed harder, picturing the look on Josh's face as he turned to see Abbey standing there. She forced herself to stop and take a drink of water to ward off more coughing. She smiled at Danny as he walked into the room, glad to hear her laughing. He stifled the urge to say, 'Hi honey, I'm home' for fear of what Toby would say.

"Do you guys want to stay for dinner?" He asked instead.

Toby shook his head. "We have to get back to the West Wing. We've probably been here too long already. See you tomorrow CJ, but only if you're feeling better."

"Okay." she agreed, too readily Danny decided, and waved to them as they left.

"How're you feeling?"

"Much better. Oh, Toby closed the window for Sam, he was getting cold."

Danny grinned. "He's never going to live that down."

"Oh, I'm sure Toby or I will slip and mention it to the President."

Danny shuddered. "Poor Sam. Oh, well. Do you want dinner now, it's almost seven."

"Yeah, I guess more soup would be the best thing."

"If you want something else..."

"I can't taste anything anyway, so soup is fine. Make something else for yourself if you want."

Danny quickly made dinner and brought it out to her. Once they were settled, he asked, "Are you planning on going into work tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I can't take too much time off. And if I need anything, I have Carol." She stared at him. "And you?"

"No, sorry." He smiled faintly. "You'll have to make do with just Carol tomorrow, when I went by the paper I had an assignment waiting for me."

"Really? An assignment?"

"I might be in a bit of trouble with my editor."

"Why?"

"I took today off and forgot to call."

CJ laughed. "Good job."

He grinned sheepishly. "Oh well. So I'm going to have to leave early in the morning, are you going to be okay getting into the office?"

She sighed. "Yes, Danny. I'll call a cab or one of the boys."

"Sorry." He looked sad. "I know you've been running your own life for years now."

Her gaze softened. "It's okay. Just relax."

"I just..." He stopped and stared at her for a moment. "I promised you I'd wait until after you were feeling better. Why don't we watch a movie?"

He jumped up and went to the video cabinet he had discovered while looking at her books the night before. Picking one, he showed it to her. She nodded thoughtfully, barely glancing at it. He busied himself with the video before walking to sit down next to her again. She waited until he was settled on the couch, then moved to lay her head on his chest.

"CJ."

"Shh, the movie is starting."

He paused it. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. My neck hurts but otherwise I'm doing okay."

He pushed her upright. "Sit up."

"Am I too heavy for you?" She teased him. "That could be a problem sometime in the future."

He groaned. "CJ, don't start something you can't finish. I was going to give you a massage." He stalled her next comment, "Just on your neck."

"Really?" She smiled. "Thank you."

"Relax." He told her as he began massaging her neck. "And start the movie."

Later, CJ would not be able to remember what movie they had watched. She only knew she fell asleep on Danny's chest, feeling more relaxed than she had in years.

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