Satin Memories
Lin
"if I had a box just for wishes
and dreams that had never come true
the box would be empty except for the memories
of how they were answered by you"
Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce
She yawned.
Sam absently twirled the red strands of hair around his finger, barely touching CJ's face. Her eyes were lightly closed, enough for the curly eyelashes to just kiss her skin, but he could tell she was awake.
In his lap. In her house.
Her eyelashes fluttered momentarily, like the whisper of angel's wings, before finally opening to reveal startling blue eyes.
In the last few weeks, little had changed. Much. They were still CJ & Sam. Good friends. Senior Staffers to the President of the United States. But their intimacy level had grown dramatically. Gone were the formal boundaries of old, in its stead a deeper friendship. What had once been secret smiles reserved for Josh, had extended its friendly hand to him. And he had every intention of taking it.
Her eyes traveled towards Sam as she tried to stifle the low moaning sound emanating from the back of her throat.
"I'll take that as my cue," Sam gently brushed the hair out of her face, softly caressing her face.
She looked up from the pillow she was lying haphazardly against, on top of Sam's lap. "Of what?" She murmured sleepily.
Sam leaned down to whisper lightly in her ear. "It's time for me to go."
"No," CJ groaned. "I just got all nice and comfy." Her long arms flung down against Sam's leg, playfully slapping them.
"I could tell," Sam replied, dryly.
"But you just got here," she murmured. Her body curled tightly against him, effectively trapping him on the couch.
"No, *we* didn't," Sam gently reminded her. "Josh and Toby left over an hour ago."
CJ turned her body so she could look up into his face. "Oh, so why are you still here?"
"Because you have me trapped, CJ!"
"Oops," she bit back a slow laugh. Slowly, she drew her body in an upright position, capturing the soft pillow in her hands. "You are released."
Sam took the opportunity to stretch his taut muscles. He found the remote control lying on the small end table, and clicked the television off. "Have you spoken to Danny lately?"
CJ drew back, confusion evident on her face. "Danny? Where in the hell did that come from?"
Sam shrugged.
"Fine then. Why don't you tell me about Mallory and Ainsley," CJ shot back.
"Mallory and Ainsley?" The blood drained from Sam's face. "There is *no* Mallory and Ainsley. There never was."
"Well, why in the hell did you ask me about Danny?"
"I don't know. It just popped in my head---"
"And out of your mouth. Glad to know I'm not the only one."
"So?"
"So, what?" CJ drew her legs against her body, as she settled on the other end of the couch. She eyed Sam warily, afraid of what would emerge from his mouth next.
"Nothing special. I'm just interested in the ongoing saga of CJ & Danny."
"First off, Sam, this is not Dawson's Creek..."
"You watch Dawson's Creek?" Sam smirked.
"Secondly," CJ emphasized. "There isn't *nor* will there ever be, *anything* between Danny and myself."
Sam swept his blue eyes over CJ before answering, "If you say so."
"I say so." CJ drew her long legs down until they barely touched Sam. "Isn't it time for you to go?"
"You're *making* me leave?"
"Hey, you were the one complaining..."
Sam glanced at the clock hanging over CJ's mantelpiece. "It's almost 1:00. Now would be a good time to go."
CJ grinned, "Glad to see you feel that way."
"You know, CJ..."
"What?"
"I don't have a love life."
CJ sighed. "Unfortunately, none of us do." Pause. "Unless you count Josh and Donna---"
"---which we don't---"
"---because they don't even know yet---"
"---so we're all alone---"
"---with no one---"
"---except for ourselves." Sam finished. They grinned at each other. "I do have a life--of sorts," Sam started.
CJ looked over at him. "You do? Why haven't I been informed of this development. I am the Press Secretary, you know," she quipped.
"Oh, but you do know. Actually, it consists of you and me and hanging out together."
CJ froze. "Are you sure about that?" She flicked her thumb towards the door, "Because I'm sure if you'd just ask some of the women in the West Wing, they'd be more than happy to..."
"Nope, I like you just fine." He gave CJ's leg a comforting squeeze and stood up. "I'm gonna go now."
"Really?" She followed him to the door. "You really should get a life, Sam."
He looked back through the open doorway. "I already have one." With that, he dropped a small kiss on her lips. "Goodnight, CJ," he whispered.
"See, if you were dating, you'd get a much better kiss!" CJ yelled after his retreating figure.
"I doubt it!" Sam yelled back.
CJ sighed and shut her door. She leaned her head against it and let out a deep breath. 'Damn that man.'
*~*
"How about Friday?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so."
Danny allowed himself a momentary pout before continuing, a grin on his face. "Thursday."
"If I said no to Friday, why would you think I'd say yes to Thursday?"
"Hope."
"Hopeful delusions would be more like it," CJ muttered. "Get out."
"OK," Danny paused before leaving the office. "Oh, yeah. Meant to tell you before, nice pic." He pointed to the one of her and Sam from the State Dinner, hanging on her wall.
'Go,' she mouthed.
"Hey, Sam." CJ's head shot up in surprise at Danny's words.
"Hey, Sam." Pause. "What's wrong?" She took in the grim look on his face. "Oh, God, what happened now?" Sam walked to her desk and gently placed a picture in front of her. He watched grimly as CJ's face grew pale. "Oh, my God. Where did you get that?"
"My mailbox," he flopped into one of CJ's chairs.
"So, I'm going to assume someone else has it..."
"Yes."
"And they're going to run with it."
"Presumably."
"Who?" CJ leaned back in her chair, trying to catch the small bits of warmth streaming through the window.
"Does it matter?" Sam asked tiredly.
"Yes, it matters Sam!" CJ yelled. Tiredly, she rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to summon the will to continue through her growing headache. "There's someone out there taking pictures of us."
"As usual. This time they just caught something interesting," Sam supplied.
"Interesting? Sam, this is us, *kissing*!" Her fingers jabbed the picture to emphasize her point.
"What can they do?" he asked simply.
CJ's face scrunched up in thought. "I don't know, but I'd rather not find out."
"We'll just explain to Leo, it was platonic."
"Because that's all it was," CJ concurred. "How long do you think?"
"Before we get hit?" He continued as he saw CJ nod her head. "Well, it depends on when would get the most coverage---"
"---do the most damage," CJ finished.
"So...anytime?"
"I wouldn't count on that. The election is two years away. Well, less than..."
"But this isn't anywhere near as damaging as Leo."
"Do you think they'll try to bring this up, run it against Leo---"
"And Laurie."
"Laurie," CJ repeated. "But it doesn't fit."
"Maybe this is a watch-your-step warning?" Sam replied.
"Maybe," CJ amended, uneasily. "You got it this morning?"
"Yeah."
"Since I haven't heard anything in the Briefings so far..."
"We have time?"
"It would seem that way."
They both leaned back deep in thought, trying to gauge the impact this new revelation would make.
But most of all...who?
"if I had a box just for wishes
and dreams that had never come true
the box would be empty except for the memories
of how they were answered by you
but there never seems to be enough time to do the
things you want once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
that you're the one I want to go through time with"
Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce
I Hope You Dance: Peppermint Kiss
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