The West Wing - The Jackal 10/?
Title: The Jackal - Chapter 10
Pairing: CJ/Toby
Rating: Teen... to be safe.
Summary: After being admitted to hospital, Abbey meets and decides to adopt a fourteen-year-old girl. But there may be something more to this rogue orphan… can The First Lady help her? AU
--
Sunday November 6th
8am
--
Rolling over and stretching out, Alex reached for her watch. It was eight o’clock on a Sunday morning. She’d expected to be heading to church after CJ mentioned being Catholic. A little confused, she slipped out of bed and headed to the door. Realising she was still holding onto her teddy bear, Alex considered leaving it behind but thought better of it. Clutching it close to her, she slipped out the door and down the hallway. Outside she could hear a little traffic, but inside there was nothing. She crept up to CJ’s door and knocked quietly. The door creaked, swinging open slowly and allowing Alex a perfect view of the large king sized bed. She smiled to herself, CJ was still snuggled up under the blankets. She turned to leave and hit her knee against the doorframe, crying out in pain.
“Alex?” She turned back to find CJ rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.” Alex said quickly, remaining outside the room.
“I was only half asleep.” CJ admitted as she sat up and stretched. “Come in, you’ll get cold in the hallway.”
“I thought, maybe, we’d be going to church.” Alex said quietly as she perched herself on the end of the bed, holding her bear tight.
“Only on holidays,” Pulling her blankets up around her shoulders, CJ yawned. “With my job I like to sleep in, particularly when I’ve just visited my family. Sorry if you wanted to go.”
“No, sleeping in is a good thing. It’s understandable.”
“Who’s your friend?” CJ asked cautiously, nodding towards the bear.
“His name’s Percy.” Alex gently passed him to CJ for her to have a look. He was brown and scruffy, with one eye missing. “I’ve had him since I was seven, a girl at the orphanage gave it to me before she left.” There were stitches missing on his feet and his left ear had begun to lose its soft fur, which only showed how much the poor old thing had been loved.
“That’s a long time to have a friend.”
“Yeah he’s a little worn out.” She admitted, taking him back and playing with the loose stitches on the bear’s nose. “But it’s not that long to have a friend, you’ve known Toby for much longer.”
“And he’s just as scruffy, if not more so.” CJ added with a smile, making Alex laugh. With thoughts of Toby her eyes moved to her bedside table, where a simple black and white photo sat in a silver frame. It held a memory, as most photos did, of a time when everything had been so much easier, in particular, falling in love. There were no hurdles to jump and no secrets to hide.
“Toby has a photo like that one.” Alex informed her, as if she didn’t already know.
“My brother took it.”
“Which one?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Daniel.” CJ replied quietly as she stared at the photo. After a moment she glanced back at Alex. “How did you sleep?” She asked, wanting to get Toby out of her head. But with Alex around, that was going to be hard.
“Like a baby.” She tapped her fingers on her ankle. “What about you?”
“Oh, I woke up a few times. Nothing new there.”
“Something on your mind?”
“Quite a few things actually.” CJ replied truthfully. “The DNA results being a major issue.”
“Of course.” Alex nodded. She had noticeably tensed at the mention of those three simple letters. “What happens if it’s positive?” She asked quietly, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“Well, I guess we really should talk about this.” CJ grabbed her spare pillow and hugged it tight. “Alex, what did your Aunt tell you about your mother?” She was careful not to speak to Alex as if everything she’d grown up with was the truth, just in case.
“She left.” Alex frowned as she thought about it. “My Dad died in a car accident a few weeks before I was born, and Mom couldn’t handle it. So I lived with my Dad’s friend, Aunt Merideth until she passed away.”
“He was in a car accident.” CJ repeated to herself. She recalled Toby being in a car accident the week they called off the engagement. Only a few weeks previously their daughter had been pronounced dead.
“Yeah.” Alex muttered, her fingers playing with the satin of her boxer shorts. “What about you?”
“Huh?”
“What happened to your daughter?” Alex asked. Her eyes refused to meet the blue ones gazing at her intently.
“Nothing like what you’ve described.” CJ answered, frowning slightly. “I had a beautiful baby girl, and I was engaged to the love of my life. Three days later, my daughter was gone. We named her Alexandra Jane, and although five weeks premature she was quite healthy. We didn’t see the body and the midwife had disappeared. I have never believed my daughter was dead. But so many people have tried to convince me.”
“Abbey believes you.” Alex assured her. “And if it means having a family, then so do I.”
“If the tests are positive, you could move in here.” Changing the subject seemed the best course of action, before an awkward silence fell between them. “Or we could get a house, unless you want to stay with the Bartlet’s.”
“I haven’t really thought about it, but I guess it would come down to choosing between living with you and living with Abbey.” Alex considered, finally looking up to meet CJ’s eyes. “But a house would be good if…”
“He would have to have time to think about us all living under one roof.” CJ quickly said, realising where the conversation was heading.
“If you are my mother…” Alex raised an eyebrow. “He would be Toby?”
“The White House does not comment on the personal lives of their staff.” CJ replied automatically, a sly smile playing on her lips. “How did you know?”
“Photo’s Toby has around his apartment.” Alex shrugged. A photo was such an intriguing object. It could tell someone so much just by capturing a moment in time. It was a wonderful way to hold onto memories, and Alex didn’t have any. Between the ages of six and fourteen, the only photos she had were taken for the orphanage files. “And the comment you’d made about being engaged when you were pregnant.”
“Would you like some breakfast?”
“I wouldn’t mind some.” Alex smiled as they stood and headed for the kitchen.
“Does Toby know that you know?” CJ asked as she opened the fridge, frowning at the lack of food.
“I don’t know if Toby knows that I know.” Alex replied, taking a seat at the counter.
“You don’t know… what?”
“I don’t know if he knows that I know, you know?”
“You’re one twisted kid.” CJ laughed, searching for a jar of jam or anything else that would go well with toast.
“I don’t think he knows.” Alex sighed, watching as CJ removed random jars and plates of food from the fridge. “It was just a guess.”
“Well, good work detective.” CJ pulled out a plate and lifted the foil of it. “The chicken’s not good to eat.” She tipped the plate over the trash can and watched as the food disappeared.
“You were going to have chicken for breakfast?” Alex asked, raising and eyebrow.
“Of course.” CJ shrugged. “Cold chicken sandwich, smothered in mustard.”
“Heaven.” Alex grinned. “I’ve never known anyone else who liked it that way.”
“I love eating hot foods cold. Leftover pizza is the best.”
“Leftover pizza is the god of all foods!” Alex cried out. “Particularly cheese pizza…”
“With a thick layer of tomato paste…” CJ interrupted. She grinned mischievously. “We should have pizza for lunch.”
“Sounds like fun.” Alex laughed, leaning over the counter to try and see what was in the fridge. “Do you have eggs?”
“Eggs…” CJ crouched down and managed to pull out half a carton of eggs. “They should be okay.”
“Sit back and I shall cook scrambled eggs.”
“You cook?”
“I do.” She moved around the counter and grabbed the egg carton while CJ went searching for a cooking pot. “It greatly amused Ainsley. What time do I have to be back at the Residence?”
“Abbey said that dinner would probably be around seven, so maybe five thirty.” CJ shrugged. "So how did it go with Ainsley?” She asked playfully.
“She talks non-stop.” Alex cringed as she turned on the stove. “The conversation varied between getting to know each other, food, and Sam. It was a little odd.”
“I’m amazed you could keep up with her.”
“Yeah, she’s fun though,” Alex shrugged. “So what are we going to do all day?”
“I’m not really sure.” CJ shrugged. “I usually head into work I’ve never really had a reason to stay home and do… whatever.”
“Way to have fun.” Alex replied sarcastically.
“You know what? Why don’t we do nothing, everything, and absolutely anything we feel like?”
“Miss Cregg you’ve got yourself a deal.” They shook hands and proceeded to plan their day. CJ insisted that whenever they stopped to eat they played two rounds each of Truth or Dare, whilst Alex insisted they sit in the lift outside CJ’s door and play scrabble on the floor. It was going to be a day of spontaneous fun.
--
5pm
--
Walking with CJ towards her car, Jed amused himself with thoughts of CJ and Toby becoming a family. But other thoughts plagued his mind and he hid his smile. “Claudia Jean, would I be right in thinking you took part in a scavenger hunt today at lunch time?”
“Whereabouts would that have been sir?” CJ asked politely, hoping she wasn’t in too much trouble.
“Well, I could have sworn there were a few Senior Staffers and a fourteen year old girl rollerblading throughout the car park in an attempt to beat each other to certain objects and take them back to Toby’s car.” Jed explained.
“You sure know a lot of the facts sir.”
“I have my sources.” Jed smiled, and CJ knew straight away who he was referring to.
“You were gossiping with Margaret?”
“I was discussing odd occurrences in the White House with Margaret.”
“Of course sir.” CJ grinned, pulling her keys out of her pocket.
“I just want to know why I wasn’t invited.” Jed thought about it for a moment. “I’m sure I could work out a pair of rollerblades. They aren’t that hard are they?”
“No sir.” CJ laughed as they reached the car. “I’m sure we could teach you quite easily. It can be another sport you can beat us at.”
“Just as it should be Claudia Jean. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”
“It was Alex that organised it, so you’ll have to take it up with her.” CJ informed him, slipping into her car and winding down her window. “Thankyou for letting us get away with it sir.”
“Anyone that can get Toby involved, whether he wears skates or not deserves to do whatever they want.” He replied. “Congratulations on filling his car with useless junk, by the way.”
“We tried our best to get a goat in there, but it wasn’t working out for us.”
“Drive safely.”
“I don’t live that far away.”
“Claudia.” Jed said in a warning tone and she gave a curt nod of agreement.
“Goodnight, sir.”
“Goodnight, CJ.” Jed smiled as he watched CJ drive off, and he spoke to Ron quietly as they walked back. “If these tests come back positive I want a security detail on CJ at all times.”
“We’d have to speak to Miss Cregg about that, sir. But I’ll start organising it.”
“Thankyou Ron.” Jed nodded, and they continued on their way back to the Residence.
--
8pm
--
Standing in front of her bathroom mirror naked, CJ stared at her reflection with a frown on her face. Her hand caressed her stomach for a moment, her fingers lingering on a fourteen year old scar. Almost unnoticeable, she could recall her psychiatrist telling her how it could be harder for women to deal with the death of a baby when they’ve had a Caesarean section. The scar didn’t always disappear. Her normal routine continued as she let a tear roll down her cheek. Moving her attention further up, she pressed her fingers against her stomach to test the muscle and flinched a little at the pain it caused. Again her hands glided up to her breasts and she froze. As a young teenager she would press her, still developing, breasts together to try and make them look bigger. As an adult, she couldn’t help but repeat the process. Every time she stepped out of the shower it was the same, she would stand there and criticise her body. She could remember a time when she’d stopped the habit, but that was long gone.
The final part of her routine was her face and hair. She smiled, and suddenly everything seemed different to what she’d been used to. She had become accustomed to comparing herself to her mother quite positively, but suddenly she could see characteristics she shared with her daughter. The smile that was so like her mother’s, reminded her of the smile she’d seen the first time she met Alex. Her mother’s cheekbones that she had prayed for every night until she finally lost all the baby fat in her cheeks, similar to the ones Alex seemed to have. Her hair, dark and wavy - as long as she treated her curls appropriately. As far as she’d seen Alex did not have complete curls, it was mostly wavy with a few half ringlets. She smiled again and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her tightly, and headed for the door.
“Oh my God!” She screeched as she came face to face with Toby.
“Hi.” Was all he said as he sat down on her bed, and reached for the book on her bedside table. He glanced up at her and took in her appearance before examining the book.
“What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?” She yelled at him, attempting to close her towel tighter.
“Why the hell are you yelling?”
“Because you’re in my bedroom!” CJ yelled again, and watched in confusion as he simply stood and left the room. She stared at the closed bedroom door and frowned. “Toby?” She called out after a moment.
“Yeah?” He was only standing on the other side of the door.
“Come back in,” She sighed, walking over to her closet to get dressed. “What did you want?”
“I thought you might want to have a drink,” Toby offered, and CJ simply raised an eyebrow. “I thought you might want to talk about something.”
“Toby…”
“Okay, I thought you might want to talk about Alex.” He lay down on the bed and flipped through the book until he found CJ’s bookmark.
“She’s knows it’s you,” She said simply. “And she worked it out all on her own. Which I knew had to happen, because she talked about you non-stop. Toby this, Toby that, and apparently you have a lot of photos of me in your house.”
“You know that.”
“Did you ever think that could be why you and Andy didn’t work out?” CJ asked seriously as she changed into her pyjamas.
“You’re not the reason Andy and I didn’t work.”
“Do you even know the reason?” CJ began to dry her hair as she sat on the bed next to him. He was silent for a moment, thinking, attempting to find an answer for her.
“It wasn’t you, CJ. We didn’t work.”
“Okay then,” She snatched her book of him and dropped it on the floor. “Want a drink?”
“What have you got?”
“I believe your good friend Jack is in the kitchen.” CJ smiled, pulling him with her as she got off the bed and headed out the door.
--
“What do you want to do when the tests comes back positive?”
“When?” CJ asked, almost choking on her drink. “You spend a day with the girl and suddenly you’re on my side?”
“It’s not a case of taking sides,” Toby countered. “It’s a case of you’re right and I’m wrong. I apologise, and if you repeat this to anyone I will deny it and disown our daughter.”
“There’s the Tobus I know and love.” She grinned, stretching out on the lounge.
“So what are we going to do when we get the tests back?”
“I asked Alex that and she said she wasn’t sure,” CJ bit her lip for a moment before continuing. “I suggested buying a bigger house and she said she wouldn’t mind, if we bought it as a family.”
“Do you want to try and pick up where we left off?”
“With the exception that we won’t be woken up at all hours of the night, and she’s already toilet trained.” She laughed.
“Marry me, CJ.”
“It’s not as simple as that.”
“And you think it would be easier for all involved for two respectable Senior Staffers to reveal they have an illegitimate child together?”
“Whether we are married or not, she’s still going to be illegitimate.” CJ examined the bottom of her empty glass. “Well at least she is now.”
“CJ, we were engaged for two years before you fell pregnant.”
“We’re not having this argument.” CJ stood up and headed back into the kitchen to find another bottle.
“I love you.” Toby muttered, following after her like a puppy.
“You’re deranged.”
“You drink too much.”
“You taught me how.”
“Marry me.” He stood between her and the liquor cabinet.
“Make me.” She whispered, leaning into him. In life she’d made so many mistakes, but only two with Toby. The first was not marrying him after being engaged for two years, the second was leaving him, and suddenly a third was taking place. She shouldn’t have leant in to him, she shouldn’t have been drinking with him in the first place, and as their mouths clashed she knew she shouldn’t sleep with Toby Ziegler.
--
Chapter 11
--
Pairing: CJ/Toby
Rating: Teen... to be safe.
Summary: After being admitted to hospital, Abbey meets and decides to adopt a fourteen-year-old girl. But there may be something more to this rogue orphan… can The First Lady help her? AU
--
Sunday November 6th
8am
--
Rolling over and stretching out, Alex reached for her watch. It was eight o’clock on a Sunday morning. She’d expected to be heading to church after CJ mentioned being Catholic. A little confused, she slipped out of bed and headed to the door. Realising she was still holding onto her teddy bear, Alex considered leaving it behind but thought better of it. Clutching it close to her, she slipped out the door and down the hallway. Outside she could hear a little traffic, but inside there was nothing. She crept up to CJ’s door and knocked quietly. The door creaked, swinging open slowly and allowing Alex a perfect view of the large king sized bed. She smiled to herself, CJ was still snuggled up under the blankets. She turned to leave and hit her knee against the doorframe, crying out in pain.
“Alex?” She turned back to find CJ rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.” Alex said quickly, remaining outside the room.
“I was only half asleep.” CJ admitted as she sat up and stretched. “Come in, you’ll get cold in the hallway.”
“I thought, maybe, we’d be going to church.” Alex said quietly as she perched herself on the end of the bed, holding her bear tight.
“Only on holidays,” Pulling her blankets up around her shoulders, CJ yawned. “With my job I like to sleep in, particularly when I’ve just visited my family. Sorry if you wanted to go.”
“No, sleeping in is a good thing. It’s understandable.”
“Who’s your friend?” CJ asked cautiously, nodding towards the bear.
“His name’s Percy.” Alex gently passed him to CJ for her to have a look. He was brown and scruffy, with one eye missing. “I’ve had him since I was seven, a girl at the orphanage gave it to me before she left.” There were stitches missing on his feet and his left ear had begun to lose its soft fur, which only showed how much the poor old thing had been loved.
“That’s a long time to have a friend.”
“Yeah he’s a little worn out.” She admitted, taking him back and playing with the loose stitches on the bear’s nose. “But it’s not that long to have a friend, you’ve known Toby for much longer.”
“And he’s just as scruffy, if not more so.” CJ added with a smile, making Alex laugh. With thoughts of Toby her eyes moved to her bedside table, where a simple black and white photo sat in a silver frame. It held a memory, as most photos did, of a time when everything had been so much easier, in particular, falling in love. There were no hurdles to jump and no secrets to hide.
“Toby has a photo like that one.” Alex informed her, as if she didn’t already know.
“My brother took it.”
“Which one?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Daniel.” CJ replied quietly as she stared at the photo. After a moment she glanced back at Alex. “How did you sleep?” She asked, wanting to get Toby out of her head. But with Alex around, that was going to be hard.
“Like a baby.” She tapped her fingers on her ankle. “What about you?”
“Oh, I woke up a few times. Nothing new there.”
“Something on your mind?”
“Quite a few things actually.” CJ replied truthfully. “The DNA results being a major issue.”
“Of course.” Alex nodded. She had noticeably tensed at the mention of those three simple letters. “What happens if it’s positive?” She asked quietly, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“Well, I guess we really should talk about this.” CJ grabbed her spare pillow and hugged it tight. “Alex, what did your Aunt tell you about your mother?” She was careful not to speak to Alex as if everything she’d grown up with was the truth, just in case.
“She left.” Alex frowned as she thought about it. “My Dad died in a car accident a few weeks before I was born, and Mom couldn’t handle it. So I lived with my Dad’s friend, Aunt Merideth until she passed away.”
“He was in a car accident.” CJ repeated to herself. She recalled Toby being in a car accident the week they called off the engagement. Only a few weeks previously their daughter had been pronounced dead.
“Yeah.” Alex muttered, her fingers playing with the satin of her boxer shorts. “What about you?”
“Huh?”
“What happened to your daughter?” Alex asked. Her eyes refused to meet the blue ones gazing at her intently.
“Nothing like what you’ve described.” CJ answered, frowning slightly. “I had a beautiful baby girl, and I was engaged to the love of my life. Three days later, my daughter was gone. We named her Alexandra Jane, and although five weeks premature she was quite healthy. We didn’t see the body and the midwife had disappeared. I have never believed my daughter was dead. But so many people have tried to convince me.”
“Abbey believes you.” Alex assured her. “And if it means having a family, then so do I.”
“If the tests are positive, you could move in here.” Changing the subject seemed the best course of action, before an awkward silence fell between them. “Or we could get a house, unless you want to stay with the Bartlet’s.”
“I haven’t really thought about it, but I guess it would come down to choosing between living with you and living with Abbey.” Alex considered, finally looking up to meet CJ’s eyes. “But a house would be good if…”
“He would have to have time to think about us all living under one roof.” CJ quickly said, realising where the conversation was heading.
“If you are my mother…” Alex raised an eyebrow. “He would be Toby?”
“The White House does not comment on the personal lives of their staff.” CJ replied automatically, a sly smile playing on her lips. “How did you know?”
“Photo’s Toby has around his apartment.” Alex shrugged. A photo was such an intriguing object. It could tell someone so much just by capturing a moment in time. It was a wonderful way to hold onto memories, and Alex didn’t have any. Between the ages of six and fourteen, the only photos she had were taken for the orphanage files. “And the comment you’d made about being engaged when you were pregnant.”
“Would you like some breakfast?”
“I wouldn’t mind some.” Alex smiled as they stood and headed for the kitchen.
“Does Toby know that you know?” CJ asked as she opened the fridge, frowning at the lack of food.
“I don’t know if Toby knows that I know.” Alex replied, taking a seat at the counter.
“You don’t know… what?”
“I don’t know if he knows that I know, you know?”
“You’re one twisted kid.” CJ laughed, searching for a jar of jam or anything else that would go well with toast.
“I don’t think he knows.” Alex sighed, watching as CJ removed random jars and plates of food from the fridge. “It was just a guess.”
“Well, good work detective.” CJ pulled out a plate and lifted the foil of it. “The chicken’s not good to eat.” She tipped the plate over the trash can and watched as the food disappeared.
“You were going to have chicken for breakfast?” Alex asked, raising and eyebrow.
“Of course.” CJ shrugged. “Cold chicken sandwich, smothered in mustard.”
“Heaven.” Alex grinned. “I’ve never known anyone else who liked it that way.”
“I love eating hot foods cold. Leftover pizza is the best.”
“Leftover pizza is the god of all foods!” Alex cried out. “Particularly cheese pizza…”
“With a thick layer of tomato paste…” CJ interrupted. She grinned mischievously. “We should have pizza for lunch.”
“Sounds like fun.” Alex laughed, leaning over the counter to try and see what was in the fridge. “Do you have eggs?”
“Eggs…” CJ crouched down and managed to pull out half a carton of eggs. “They should be okay.”
“Sit back and I shall cook scrambled eggs.”
“You cook?”
“I do.” She moved around the counter and grabbed the egg carton while CJ went searching for a cooking pot. “It greatly amused Ainsley. What time do I have to be back at the Residence?”
“Abbey said that dinner would probably be around seven, so maybe five thirty.” CJ shrugged. "So how did it go with Ainsley?” She asked playfully.
“She talks non-stop.” Alex cringed as she turned on the stove. “The conversation varied between getting to know each other, food, and Sam. It was a little odd.”
“I’m amazed you could keep up with her.”
“Yeah, she’s fun though,” Alex shrugged. “So what are we going to do all day?”
“I’m not really sure.” CJ shrugged. “I usually head into work I’ve never really had a reason to stay home and do… whatever.”
“Way to have fun.” Alex replied sarcastically.
“You know what? Why don’t we do nothing, everything, and absolutely anything we feel like?”
“Miss Cregg you’ve got yourself a deal.” They shook hands and proceeded to plan their day. CJ insisted that whenever they stopped to eat they played two rounds each of Truth or Dare, whilst Alex insisted they sit in the lift outside CJ’s door and play scrabble on the floor. It was going to be a day of spontaneous fun.
--
5pm
--
Walking with CJ towards her car, Jed amused himself with thoughts of CJ and Toby becoming a family. But other thoughts plagued his mind and he hid his smile. “Claudia Jean, would I be right in thinking you took part in a scavenger hunt today at lunch time?”
“Whereabouts would that have been sir?” CJ asked politely, hoping she wasn’t in too much trouble.
“Well, I could have sworn there were a few Senior Staffers and a fourteen year old girl rollerblading throughout the car park in an attempt to beat each other to certain objects and take them back to Toby’s car.” Jed explained.
“You sure know a lot of the facts sir.”
“I have my sources.” Jed smiled, and CJ knew straight away who he was referring to.
“You were gossiping with Margaret?”
“I was discussing odd occurrences in the White House with Margaret.”
“Of course sir.” CJ grinned, pulling her keys out of her pocket.
“I just want to know why I wasn’t invited.” Jed thought about it for a moment. “I’m sure I could work out a pair of rollerblades. They aren’t that hard are they?”
“No sir.” CJ laughed as they reached the car. “I’m sure we could teach you quite easily. It can be another sport you can beat us at.”
“Just as it should be Claudia Jean. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”
“It was Alex that organised it, so you’ll have to take it up with her.” CJ informed him, slipping into her car and winding down her window. “Thankyou for letting us get away with it sir.”
“Anyone that can get Toby involved, whether he wears skates or not deserves to do whatever they want.” He replied. “Congratulations on filling his car with useless junk, by the way.”
“We tried our best to get a goat in there, but it wasn’t working out for us.”
“Drive safely.”
“I don’t live that far away.”
“Claudia.” Jed said in a warning tone and she gave a curt nod of agreement.
“Goodnight, sir.”
“Goodnight, CJ.” Jed smiled as he watched CJ drive off, and he spoke to Ron quietly as they walked back. “If these tests come back positive I want a security detail on CJ at all times.”
“We’d have to speak to Miss Cregg about that, sir. But I’ll start organising it.”
“Thankyou Ron.” Jed nodded, and they continued on their way back to the Residence.
--
8pm
--
Standing in front of her bathroom mirror naked, CJ stared at her reflection with a frown on her face. Her hand caressed her stomach for a moment, her fingers lingering on a fourteen year old scar. Almost unnoticeable, she could recall her psychiatrist telling her how it could be harder for women to deal with the death of a baby when they’ve had a Caesarean section. The scar didn’t always disappear. Her normal routine continued as she let a tear roll down her cheek. Moving her attention further up, she pressed her fingers against her stomach to test the muscle and flinched a little at the pain it caused. Again her hands glided up to her breasts and she froze. As a young teenager she would press her, still developing, breasts together to try and make them look bigger. As an adult, she couldn’t help but repeat the process. Every time she stepped out of the shower it was the same, she would stand there and criticise her body. She could remember a time when she’d stopped the habit, but that was long gone.
The final part of her routine was her face and hair. She smiled, and suddenly everything seemed different to what she’d been used to. She had become accustomed to comparing herself to her mother quite positively, but suddenly she could see characteristics she shared with her daughter. The smile that was so like her mother’s, reminded her of the smile she’d seen the first time she met Alex. Her mother’s cheekbones that she had prayed for every night until she finally lost all the baby fat in her cheeks, similar to the ones Alex seemed to have. Her hair, dark and wavy - as long as she treated her curls appropriately. As far as she’d seen Alex did not have complete curls, it was mostly wavy with a few half ringlets. She smiled again and grabbed her towel, wrapping it around her tightly, and headed for the door.
“Oh my God!” She screeched as she came face to face with Toby.
“Hi.” Was all he said as he sat down on her bed, and reached for the book on her bedside table. He glanced up at her and took in her appearance before examining the book.
“What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?” She yelled at him, attempting to close her towel tighter.
“Why the hell are you yelling?”
“Because you’re in my bedroom!” CJ yelled again, and watched in confusion as he simply stood and left the room. She stared at the closed bedroom door and frowned. “Toby?” She called out after a moment.
“Yeah?” He was only standing on the other side of the door.
“Come back in,” She sighed, walking over to her closet to get dressed. “What did you want?”
“I thought you might want to have a drink,” Toby offered, and CJ simply raised an eyebrow. “I thought you might want to talk about something.”
“Toby…”
“Okay, I thought you might want to talk about Alex.” He lay down on the bed and flipped through the book until he found CJ’s bookmark.
“She’s knows it’s you,” She said simply. “And she worked it out all on her own. Which I knew had to happen, because she talked about you non-stop. Toby this, Toby that, and apparently you have a lot of photos of me in your house.”
“You know that.”
“Did you ever think that could be why you and Andy didn’t work out?” CJ asked seriously as she changed into her pyjamas.
“You’re not the reason Andy and I didn’t work.”
“Do you even know the reason?” CJ began to dry her hair as she sat on the bed next to him. He was silent for a moment, thinking, attempting to find an answer for her.
“It wasn’t you, CJ. We didn’t work.”
“Okay then,” She snatched her book of him and dropped it on the floor. “Want a drink?”
“What have you got?”
“I believe your good friend Jack is in the kitchen.” CJ smiled, pulling him with her as she got off the bed and headed out the door.
--
“What do you want to do when the tests comes back positive?”
“When?” CJ asked, almost choking on her drink. “You spend a day with the girl and suddenly you’re on my side?”
“It’s not a case of taking sides,” Toby countered. “It’s a case of you’re right and I’m wrong. I apologise, and if you repeat this to anyone I will deny it and disown our daughter.”
“There’s the Tobus I know and love.” She grinned, stretching out on the lounge.
“So what are we going to do when we get the tests back?”
“I asked Alex that and she said she wasn’t sure,” CJ bit her lip for a moment before continuing. “I suggested buying a bigger house and she said she wouldn’t mind, if we bought it as a family.”
“Do you want to try and pick up where we left off?”
“With the exception that we won’t be woken up at all hours of the night, and she’s already toilet trained.” She laughed.
“Marry me, CJ.”
“It’s not as simple as that.”
“And you think it would be easier for all involved for two respectable Senior Staffers to reveal they have an illegitimate child together?”
“Whether we are married or not, she’s still going to be illegitimate.” CJ examined the bottom of her empty glass. “Well at least she is now.”
“CJ, we were engaged for two years before you fell pregnant.”
“We’re not having this argument.” CJ stood up and headed back into the kitchen to find another bottle.
“I love you.” Toby muttered, following after her like a puppy.
“You’re deranged.”
“You drink too much.”
“You taught me how.”
“Marry me.” He stood between her and the liquor cabinet.
“Make me.” She whispered, leaning into him. In life she’d made so many mistakes, but only two with Toby. The first was not marrying him after being engaged for two years, the second was leaving him, and suddenly a third was taking place. She shouldn’t have leant in to him, she shouldn’t have been drinking with him in the first place, and as their mouths clashed she knew she shouldn’t sleep with Toby Ziegler.
--
Chapter 11
--