The West Wing - The Jackal 13/?
Title: The Jackal - Chapter 13
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
--
Friday November 11th
5:58pm
--
Tapping her hand on her hip as she walked, CJ began to slow down as she neared her office. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do. Her slow pace didn’t work as well as she’d anticipated when Carol saw her. “He’s in my office?” She asked quietly as her assistant joined her.
“Yeah,” Carol replied with a shrug. “You asked to see him, and he’s there. I’m guessing you’re not looking forward to the conversation. What’s going on?” She asked even quieter as they reached her office.
“I’ll can’t tell you, until I’ve told him.” CJ told her sincerely.
“Okay, good luck.”
“Thanks,” CJ took the files Carol handed her and walked into her office, closing the door behind her. He sat silently on the couch, waiting for her to talk. Dropping the files on her desk, CJ grabbed a chair and turned it around to face him. “Thanks for coming.” She said as she sat down.
“You know I’m at your beck and call…”
“Danny please,” She interrupted him, not wanting to go through their usual banter. “I’ve got a leak for you. It’s probably not something you will write about, but I need to tell you.”
“Okay,” He took out his notepad and pen. “Shoot.”
“The First Lady, since adopting Alexandra, has been helping her try to track down her biological parents. DNA results were confirmed this afternoon.” She stopped, trying to work out what she should say. Her mind was racing through so many things. Alex was on her mind and all she wanted to do was go back to the residence and hug her again.
“Are you going to leave me in suspense?” Danny asked in a joking manner.
“She’s my daughter.” CJ suddenly blurted out, and watched as Danny froze. “It’s why I had to tell you, Danny. I didn’t want you to read it in the paper tomorrow.” She stopped before she said anything stupid, and waited for him to say something. He looked everywhere except in her direction, and all she could think about was her daughter.
“Okay, so is there anything more you want to tell me?” Danny asked as he wrote notes, still avoiding looking directly at her. “What happened? Identity of the father?”
“Her father’s identity will not be disclosed to the public, for personal reasons. As for what happened,” CJ glanced down at her hands. “She was kidnapped three days after she was born. When she was six, the woman who kidnapped her died suddenly and she was put in the care of the state. She’s been in an orphanage since then. We were told she was dead, so we didn’t even look for her. That’s all I can give you.” She was only just managing to hold back tears as she spoke.
“Coming from an anonymous White House source?”
“Whatever you usually do Danny.” She sighed as she stood and walked behind her desk. From her top draw she pulled out a photo, and walked back to hand it to Danny.
“Off the record?”
“What?”
“Is she Toby’s daughter?” He asked, looking at the baby in the photo.
“Off the record?” CJ asked, just to double check.
“Yeah CJ, as a friend, is Toby her father?” He asked cautiously. He didn’t want to step on any toes, but he had to know.
“Yeah, and we decided it would be best if we didn’t divulge that information,” She bit her lip. “He and Alex are still going to spend time together. We’re both trying to do the right thing by our daughter and keep the Administration as ‘scandal free’ as possible.”
“That’s good,” Danny glanced back down at the photo in his hands. A small baby with a full head of hair was rugged up in a pink blanket, her eyes closed and she was sleeping peacefully. “She looks a lot like you CJ. Now, I mean. Here she looks more like Toby but…”
“But with more hair.” CJ smiled, as she finished his sentence.
“Yeah,” He smiled back, finally meeting her gaze. “So you and Toby…”
“Nothing,” CJ said, almost too quickly. “At least not now, and with no intention…”
“It’s okay if you were,” Danny shrugged. “I mean you have history, you have a daughter together. You’re good together.”
“You’ve spent the past three years trying to get me into bed and now you won’t even put up a fight?” She seemed a little disappointed, but at the same time she felt slightly relieved.
“Hey if that’s a sure fire way to get you into bed…”
“Goodnight Danny,” She laughed, opening the door and motioning for him to get out. He stole a quick kiss as he walked past her, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Carol, I need to talk to my brother, he should still be at work.”
“You do realise you have two brothers right?”
“I need to talk to Dan.” CJ groaned, as if it should have been obvious.
--
Saturday November 12th
7:28pm
--
“Think fast!” Alex spun around as she heard Jed’s call and managed to catch the apple he’d thrown at her before it smashed into her shoulder.
“You’ll have to be faster than that to outsmart me Mr President,” She emitted an evil laugh and began to chop up the apple for her fruit salad. “For I am evil and all shall submit to my will.”
“Oh please not us,” Jed sighed dramatically, grabbing a bunch of bananas to add to the desert. “We’re good people and we’ll do you no harm.”
“Ha! You shall eat my mind altering fruit salad, and then all will be powerless to stop me.” She began to giggle, and burst into hysterics when she saw CJ and Toby walk in.
“What did we miss?”
“We’ve been watching some old movies, and now your daughter is the evil queen of the universe,” Jed began to explain, letting Alex finish off the salad as he cleaned up. “And I wouldn’t eat the fruit salad if I was you.” As he spoke Toby’s hand hesitated above the bowl, and he flashed CJ a look of fear.
“It’s a joke,” Alex assured him, as she took the bowl away. “But the fruit salad’s for desert, so no touching anyway.”
“Finally someone that can put Toby in his place,” CJ laughed, nudging him as she spoke. “We’re going to have so much fun.”
“No ganging up on each other, it’s not fair on the third member of the party,” Jed scolded them, shaking his head with amusement. “But I’ll leave you three alone. Zoey and I are going to continue the movie marathon.”
“Abbey said to tell you not to stay up too late.” Alex whispered in his ear as he gave her a hug.
“You’re spending too much time with my wife,” He replied in an equally hushed tone. He kissed her cheek and nodded to his staff. “Have a good night you three.”
“Goodnight, sir.” Both CJ and Toby said as he passed them.
“Dinner will be ready in, about, ten minutes,” Alex began to explain as she cleaned up the mess she’d made in the kitchen. “I meant to have it on earlier, but lost track of time.”
“I like your dress, you look very pretty.” CJ said as Alex removed her apron.
“Thanks,” She flashed a shy smile. “That’s how I lost track of time.” Her hands worked quickly to make a pile of food scraps before she pulled the bin towards her and scraped them in. She knew it was probably making her parents uncomfortable to be standing around while she tidied up, but there was no way Abbey was going to come home to a complete mess.
“You do realise, you can get people to clean up for you right?”
“I know,” Alex looked up at Toby with a slight smile. “I know it seems odd, but I like to clean up after myself.”
“I have no issues with it.” CJ interrupted with a cheeky grin.
--
“You didn’t kiss me on the basketball court,” CJ argued, as she helped herself to more food. “It was definitely in Dan’s bedroom, when I was seventeen and he’d gone downstairs to get us a drink.” Trying to control her laughter, Alex sunk down in her chair as she watched the civilised discussion begin to deteriorate.
“CJ the first time I kissed you, was in Dan’s bedroom. The first time you kissed me,” He winked at Alex. “It was on a basketball court, and you were fifteen.” Toby met CJ’s dark blue eyes as if he tried to convey the rest of the memory to her. In response she moved to say something but stopped.
“Oh don’t leave me hanging,” Alex cried out. “Come on guys, I want to know about your first kiss.”
“I was fifteen, and I’d just found out my mother was dying of cancer,” CJ muttered quietly. “I went to the courts, because I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. Toby turned up after Dan told him, and he was so sweet. I just kissed him.” She looked up at Toby and smiled.
The look they shared did not go unnoticed by their daughter. Alex smiled to herself as she stood up to get dessert. She recalled the photo in which she’d seen that same look. The photo Daniel Cregg had taken the day he’d found out his little sister was pregnant, and it captured a bond stronger than any form of love.
“What are you smiling about?” Toby asked curiously, as Alex returned to the table.
“I’m just thinking…” She hesitated, glancing between CJ and Toby. “How different everything’s going to be having a family. I think it will definitely be all kinds of fun.” She grinned mischievously, and served dessert.
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
--
Friday November 11th
5:58pm
--
Tapping her hand on her hip as she walked, CJ began to slow down as she neared her office. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do. Her slow pace didn’t work as well as she’d anticipated when Carol saw her. “He’s in my office?” She asked quietly as her assistant joined her.
“Yeah,” Carol replied with a shrug. “You asked to see him, and he’s there. I’m guessing you’re not looking forward to the conversation. What’s going on?” She asked even quieter as they reached her office.
“I’ll can’t tell you, until I’ve told him.” CJ told her sincerely.
“Okay, good luck.”
“Thanks,” CJ took the files Carol handed her and walked into her office, closing the door behind her. He sat silently on the couch, waiting for her to talk. Dropping the files on her desk, CJ grabbed a chair and turned it around to face him. “Thanks for coming.” She said as she sat down.
“You know I’m at your beck and call…”
“Danny please,” She interrupted him, not wanting to go through their usual banter. “I’ve got a leak for you. It’s probably not something you will write about, but I need to tell you.”
“Okay,” He took out his notepad and pen. “Shoot.”
“The First Lady, since adopting Alexandra, has been helping her try to track down her biological parents. DNA results were confirmed this afternoon.” She stopped, trying to work out what she should say. Her mind was racing through so many things. Alex was on her mind and all she wanted to do was go back to the residence and hug her again.
“Are you going to leave me in suspense?” Danny asked in a joking manner.
“She’s my daughter.” CJ suddenly blurted out, and watched as Danny froze. “It’s why I had to tell you, Danny. I didn’t want you to read it in the paper tomorrow.” She stopped before she said anything stupid, and waited for him to say something. He looked everywhere except in her direction, and all she could think about was her daughter.
“Okay, so is there anything more you want to tell me?” Danny asked as he wrote notes, still avoiding looking directly at her. “What happened? Identity of the father?”
“Her father’s identity will not be disclosed to the public, for personal reasons. As for what happened,” CJ glanced down at her hands. “She was kidnapped three days after she was born. When she was six, the woman who kidnapped her died suddenly and she was put in the care of the state. She’s been in an orphanage since then. We were told she was dead, so we didn’t even look for her. That’s all I can give you.” She was only just managing to hold back tears as she spoke.
“Coming from an anonymous White House source?”
“Whatever you usually do Danny.” She sighed as she stood and walked behind her desk. From her top draw she pulled out a photo, and walked back to hand it to Danny.
“Off the record?”
“What?”
“Is she Toby’s daughter?” He asked, looking at the baby in the photo.
“Off the record?” CJ asked, just to double check.
“Yeah CJ, as a friend, is Toby her father?” He asked cautiously. He didn’t want to step on any toes, but he had to know.
“Yeah, and we decided it would be best if we didn’t divulge that information,” She bit her lip. “He and Alex are still going to spend time together. We’re both trying to do the right thing by our daughter and keep the Administration as ‘scandal free’ as possible.”
“That’s good,” Danny glanced back down at the photo in his hands. A small baby with a full head of hair was rugged up in a pink blanket, her eyes closed and she was sleeping peacefully. “She looks a lot like you CJ. Now, I mean. Here she looks more like Toby but…”
“But with more hair.” CJ smiled, as she finished his sentence.
“Yeah,” He smiled back, finally meeting her gaze. “So you and Toby…”
“Nothing,” CJ said, almost too quickly. “At least not now, and with no intention…”
“It’s okay if you were,” Danny shrugged. “I mean you have history, you have a daughter together. You’re good together.”
“You’ve spent the past three years trying to get me into bed and now you won’t even put up a fight?” She seemed a little disappointed, but at the same time she felt slightly relieved.
“Hey if that’s a sure fire way to get you into bed…”
“Goodnight Danny,” She laughed, opening the door and motioning for him to get out. He stole a quick kiss as he walked past her, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Carol, I need to talk to my brother, he should still be at work.”
“You do realise you have two brothers right?”
“I need to talk to Dan.” CJ groaned, as if it should have been obvious.
--
Saturday November 12th
7:28pm
--
“Think fast!” Alex spun around as she heard Jed’s call and managed to catch the apple he’d thrown at her before it smashed into her shoulder.
“You’ll have to be faster than that to outsmart me Mr President,” She emitted an evil laugh and began to chop up the apple for her fruit salad. “For I am evil and all shall submit to my will.”
“Oh please not us,” Jed sighed dramatically, grabbing a bunch of bananas to add to the desert. “We’re good people and we’ll do you no harm.”
“Ha! You shall eat my mind altering fruit salad, and then all will be powerless to stop me.” She began to giggle, and burst into hysterics when she saw CJ and Toby walk in.
“What did we miss?”
“We’ve been watching some old movies, and now your daughter is the evil queen of the universe,” Jed began to explain, letting Alex finish off the salad as he cleaned up. “And I wouldn’t eat the fruit salad if I was you.” As he spoke Toby’s hand hesitated above the bowl, and he flashed CJ a look of fear.
“It’s a joke,” Alex assured him, as she took the bowl away. “But the fruit salad’s for desert, so no touching anyway.”
“Finally someone that can put Toby in his place,” CJ laughed, nudging him as she spoke. “We’re going to have so much fun.”
“No ganging up on each other, it’s not fair on the third member of the party,” Jed scolded them, shaking his head with amusement. “But I’ll leave you three alone. Zoey and I are going to continue the movie marathon.”
“Abbey said to tell you not to stay up too late.” Alex whispered in his ear as he gave her a hug.
“You’re spending too much time with my wife,” He replied in an equally hushed tone. He kissed her cheek and nodded to his staff. “Have a good night you three.”
“Goodnight, sir.” Both CJ and Toby said as he passed them.
“Dinner will be ready in, about, ten minutes,” Alex began to explain as she cleaned up the mess she’d made in the kitchen. “I meant to have it on earlier, but lost track of time.”
“I like your dress, you look very pretty.” CJ said as Alex removed her apron.
“Thanks,” She flashed a shy smile. “That’s how I lost track of time.” Her hands worked quickly to make a pile of food scraps before she pulled the bin towards her and scraped them in. She knew it was probably making her parents uncomfortable to be standing around while she tidied up, but there was no way Abbey was going to come home to a complete mess.
“You do realise, you can get people to clean up for you right?”
“I know,” Alex looked up at Toby with a slight smile. “I know it seems odd, but I like to clean up after myself.”
“I have no issues with it.” CJ interrupted with a cheeky grin.
--
“You didn’t kiss me on the basketball court,” CJ argued, as she helped herself to more food. “It was definitely in Dan’s bedroom, when I was seventeen and he’d gone downstairs to get us a drink.” Trying to control her laughter, Alex sunk down in her chair as she watched the civilised discussion begin to deteriorate.
“CJ the first time I kissed you, was in Dan’s bedroom. The first time you kissed me,” He winked at Alex. “It was on a basketball court, and you were fifteen.” Toby met CJ’s dark blue eyes as if he tried to convey the rest of the memory to her. In response she moved to say something but stopped.
“Oh don’t leave me hanging,” Alex cried out. “Come on guys, I want to know about your first kiss.”
“I was fifteen, and I’d just found out my mother was dying of cancer,” CJ muttered quietly. “I went to the courts, because I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. Toby turned up after Dan told him, and he was so sweet. I just kissed him.” She looked up at Toby and smiled.
The look they shared did not go unnoticed by their daughter. Alex smiled to herself as she stood up to get dessert. She recalled the photo in which she’d seen that same look. The photo Daniel Cregg had taken the day he’d found out his little sister was pregnant, and it captured a bond stronger than any form of love.
“What are you smiling about?” Toby asked curiously, as Alex returned to the table.
“I’m just thinking…” She hesitated, glancing between CJ and Toby. “How different everything’s going to be having a family. I think it will definitely be all kinds of fun.” She grinned mischievously, and served dessert.