Title: "After the Rain"

Author: CretKid aka Cal

Category: CJ/Danny

Rating: PG-13 for language

Spoilers: Alternate universe, started by Rhonda: follows her story "After Manchester", big time spoilers for Manchester I, II

Disclaimer: Not mine. I stole Rhonda's story idea and played with it for a time.

"After the Rain"

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Danny cursed the defroster under his breath and tried to search the passenger seat for any unused napkins, all the while keeping the car on the road and still driving 15 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. The only way to keep the front window from fogging up was to keep the side windows down, but that let the rain in. He decided that being wet was better than not seeing, so he rolled the window down and kept it down, all the while cursing that he hadn’t thought to bring a jacket.

It was June, for christ's sake. You didn't need a jacket in June.

He checked his watch for the thirty-ninth time only to determine that he must be stuck in some sort of time warp because there was no way in hell it had only been an hour since he talked with her on the phone. He didn't like the sound of her voice, he didn't like that she was alone, he didn't like the fact that she drove well over an hour away to hide from those that worried for her the most.

A large green sign up ahead posted the mileage to Logan. He did the mental calculation and barring any horrible traffic jams, he would be able to find her in less than 20 minutes and maybe talk some sense in to her.

When she said she was at a bar, he thought that maybe she had found a dive just outside of town. Away from the rest of the White House circus and the joints they frequented in Manchester. Not over an hour away in an airport outside the state of New Hampshire. It took him nearly 15 minutes to track down a car and then nearly 10 minutes to convince Katie that he was going to take care of any extra rental fees. He didn't want anyone to know that he was going after CJ.

The rest of the Press Corps didn't seem to notice her absence at the announcement rally. Danny had grabbed a hold of Josh just after the announcement to ask where CJ was; the look on Josh's face told him more than he needed to know. No one seemed to know where she had disappeared. Carol had been alerted at home to see if CJ had gone back to Washington. Toby paced, Sam fretted, Josh mumbled, Leo ranted and the President…

Danny didn't know what to make of the President's reaction. There was the rumor that he had asked someone to contact the FBI to do a soft search for her; nothing to arouse public suspicion but enough to allay anyone's fears that she was physically hurt and lying somewhere in a ditch.

It wasn't the physical hurt that concerned Danny.

The airport loomed large and monstrous ahead of him. With all the flying he had done to cover stories for the Washington Post and the Dallas Morning News, he had seen his fair share of airports. Logan was no mystery to him. He dropped his car off in central parking and headed towards Terminal C.

As he walked through the ticket area, he noticed the airport was teeming with people. A quick glance at the departure screen told him why: nearly half the flights flying out of Logan for destinations on the East Coast that evening were delayed, some by more than an hour. A storm was brewing off the Mid-Atlantic, stopping air traffic for the time being. The effects of the last tropical depression to head up the East Coast of the United States was to blame for the rain. He hadn't noticed the wind had been gusting until he was out of it and in the inner sanctum of the airport.

He breezed through security and practically ran towards the Sam Adams Pub. It was on the main terminal causeway, but the traffic in and out of the joint was sparse compared to some of the larger restaurants and food courts in the area. Danny spotted CJ seated at a table in the corner, close enough to the bar to appear to be sociable, but out of the way of busy patrons coming to get refills.

The other chair at the table had been pulled around so that it was up against the glass wall looking out onto the tarmac. Her coat was draped across the back, her briefcase in the seat. Her right calf was resting on the front of the chair, leg bent at the knee with an ice pack resting just below the joint. She had a beer bottle in the other hand, the tell-tale dark blue label of Samuel Adams Boston Lager peeking out from behind her hand. There was a pile of receipts on the table, held in place by a stack of quarters. She had been there a while, probably staring out at the tarmac the entire time, as she was now.

"CJ?" he asked tentatively, touching her shoulder as he approached to catch her attention.

She started, nearly upsetting the beer bottle as she turned to see him over her shoulder. Her cheeks were ruddy and drooping from too much alcohol and too little sleep, her eyes looking more tired than he had ever seen them.

"You came," she said, surprised. "I didn’t think you would."

Danny rounded the table, carefully inspecting her leg on the other chair. Gently he knelt down next to her and touched the ice bag. "What happened?"

It wasn't the question he really wanted to ask, but he figured he might have to work up to the more important topic at hand.

CJ seemed to sputter a bit as she sat up straighter in her chair. "Stupid car. I caught my knee on the steering column climbing out of the car when I got here. Hurts like the dickens."

"May I take a look?" he asked, taking the ice pack away as she nodded her permission. She was wearing a pair of baggie cotton trousers that had more than enough give to push up her calf. He felt more than heard her wince when the material brushed against the tender area. A large red and blue welt was spread from just below her knee cap up the inside of her leg. The entire knee was swollen. He wondered what could have been on her mind as she was climbing out of the car to bang her leg so painfully.

"Ouch," he hissed through his teeth, carefully returning material of her pant leg to its rightful position.

"Tell me about it."

Danny wedged himself on the small air circulation panel that ran along the length of the floor boards rather than take the seat next to her. Her cell phone was on the floor beside her chair; she must have dropped it at some point. He picked it up and noticed the LED display read '14 missed calls'. No doubt many of those calls were from Toby, Sam and Josh.

He was sure someone had mentioned CJ must have turned her cell phone off. Maybe she had forgotten to turn it off again after she called him. He pocketed the phone so that it wouldn't be left behind when she left.

If she left.

She fingered the unruly and stringy bangs of his hair. Her skin was cold and clammy on his forehead. "You're all wet," she said, brushing the hair back with her fingers.

"It's raining outside. You didn't notice?"

"No."

Danny looked behind him at the tableau of airport workers on the tarmac. Many were attired in bright yellow slickers. The rain was bouncing off the ground and the planes docked at their gates.

He took her hand in his and tried to warm it between his palms. "Why are you here, CJ?"

She shrugged her shoulders and closed her eyes. A lone tear broke ranks and slid down the side of her face. "I can't do my job," she replied, voice stuffy and quivering with emotion.

"Why? Why can't you do your job?"

"I can't do my job," she repeated. Twirling the beer bottle in her hand, she took a deep breath and started to sit forward. "I need a refill."

Danny grabbed the bottle from her hand and gently pushed her back into her chair. "Let me. You stay here."

"Okay," she murmured.

He patted her shoulder and walked to the cash register. The woman tending the bar met him half way, wiping her hands on the white towel draped over her shoulder.

"What can I get you?" she asked with a smile.

Danny held up the beer bottle. "Two more of these and some answers to a few questions."

"Can do." The bartender ducked to retrieve two bottles from a small cube fridge under the bar, grabbing a bottle opener with the other hand as she re-emerged. "That will be $8. Answers to easy questions are free."

Danny pulled out his wallet and nodded his head in CJ's direction. "My friend over there. How long has she been here and how many of these has she had?"

The woman looked in the direction he indicated and nodded. "Oh, she's been here since I got in, about 4 PM this afternoon. As for how many, can't rightly say. She's ordered at least 4 from me."

"Great, thanks. Can I place an order for 2 turkey club sandwiches please?"

"You betcha. I'll bring them over once the order is up."

Danny walked back to where CJ was sitting. She held her head in her hand, elbow leaning against the table. Her eyes were closed. She didn't move when he placed the beers on the table. He walked over to the other chair, gently lifted her leg so that he could sit down. Shifting the chair so that he could comfortably pull both of her legs into his lap, he started to slowly massage her calf. Her briefcase was biting into his lower back so he leaned forward to move it to the floor.

In the front pocket was a one way ticket.

He kicked the briefcase under the chair; intent on ignoring his newly found information for the moment. Her leg jumped in his hand as he brushed the bruised area and he muttered an apology.

"How long have you been sitting here?" he asked, careful to avoid her knee. He moved to minister to the other leg in his lap.

CJ moaned into her hand and leaned back just a bit further in her chair. "What time is it?"

"It's about half past nine right now."

"Really? Wow."

The bartender approached with two plates. Danny nodded at the table and took the charge slip from her so that he could sign for the food. CJ had yet to open her eyes.

"CJ? CJ, I ordered us some food. I want you to eat something," Danny said, reaching over as best he could so that her plate was close to her body.

"Okay."

Danny wasn't sure he liked 'Complacent CJ' or even '3 Sheets to the Wind CJ', but he was glad she wasn't in an argumentative state. She picked at the open faced sandwich in front of her.

He waited until she had at least half the sandwich in her stomach before broaching the phone call she had made to him earlier.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked gently. He took a sip of beer to wash down the sandwich, all the while watching her reactions.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I can't do my job," she said wearily. "They won't let me do my job."

"Who?"

"They won't me. I can't do my job. This is what I do. I can't do it if they won't let me."

"They who, CJ?"

"We got him elected 3 years ago and I can't do my job."

Danny had a feeling he knew about whom she was talking about but he needed her to say it. She needed this time to vent, to talk through her frustrations. He had been out of town on another assignment when the MS announcement was made. The next time he was in the Press Room, he had heard that CJ had been benched for some of the briefings. Whenever there was something the administration needed addressed to the public, someone else did the briefing. Peter Buick from State. Nancy McNally, the National Security Advisor. When the topic was to be the MS investigation and re-election, CJ was at the podium, looking drained and haggard and not with her head in the game.

"I do know what I'm doing. I know what I'm doing. I can make manure smell like roses. They won't let me do my job."

She was out of breath and pulling on the cuffs of her shirt. Danny sat forward, dropping her legs from his lap so that he could put his arms around her. "It's okay, CJ. It's okay."

CJ pulled away abruptly. "You weren't there! It's NOT okay! You. Weren't. There."

Agitated, she tried to push away from the table but Danny had a firm grip on her forearm. She settled after a moment. "I would have pulled Carl's credentials if it didn't make me look like a petty, vindictive witch." Her torso was racked with silent laughter for almost a minute. "Can I add that to my resume under skills?"

Danny pretended not to hear 'resume' come from her mouth and all that would imply. He rubbed her back in slow, soothing circles.

"I did PR for years, Danny, I know how to present a project. And I can't do it. They won't let me. Abbey's pissed at me, the President told me to butt out. Leo won't help."

Well, that cinches that rumor, Danny thought to himself. He wondered what had changed in order to get the First Lady to introduce her husband at the announcement yesterday. Did CJ even know?

CJ slumped over the table, head cradled in her arms. Her voice was muffled when she finally spoke. "I can't do my job. I've got no credibility. FDA's gonna announce when we asked to have the news cycle all to ourselves. I mean, they ignored me. What the hell? I can't do my job. I just… I just can't handle it anymore. I'm too tired. I wanna go home."

She looked up, pleading and tears in her eyes. "I wanna… I just wanna go home."

End part 2