Triptych: little things Author: august (appelsini@h...) Codes: CJ/T, R This is a small story that's part of a larger story, across three different fandoms. I didn't think it was appropriate to post them all on west wing lists, so if you're interested, point your browsers thusly: http://members.tripod.com/~Appelsini/ww/history.html Otherwise, on with the show. And I'm sorry. A dingo made me do it. III. little things (the west wing) Washington in autumn. CJ tells him she doesn't want to drink anymore, and he has to shake the memory of Andi standing outside a Washington bar in a black dress and boots she was too old to wear, saying, "we only fuck when we're drunk." "Well, thank god for Jack Daniels," he'd replied. Ten minutes later, he'd caught a taxi home, sitting sober in the suit she'd bought him the week before. CJ tells him she doesn't want to drink anymore, and he remembers those last months with Andi, when there was no alcohol, no sex and no kindness. He supposes he should be troubled by the fact that he links the three together. "What, ever?" CJ scans over the papers she's placing on his desk. "I just, you know, I don't think there should be a well-worn path straight from the West Wing to Michael's, is all." He smirks. "A well-worn path?" She stares at him, and then crosses the room. "I'm going to be late for the television guys, and you're being an asshole." He blinks as the door shuts. CJ tells him she doesn't want to drink anymore, and he finds her in the mess hall that evening, drinking milk and eating a honey sandwich. "What the hell is this?" He picks up half a sandwich and separates the bread. They both watch in fascination as honey fall from one piece to the other. "The briefing ran over, and then Mark wanted to-" She stopped, and looked up at him. "I'm having some dinner." "Milk and honey? Jesus, CJ, if you give me a pipe and slippers we'd be an, an, episode of 'Happy Days'." He watches her pick up her glass and say, "Mr Cunningham didn't smoke. And you call yourself a conservative." He laughs, and so does she. His hand behind her neck, and he leans across to kiss her. "Josh'n'Sam are going to Michael's. So I thought, you weren't serious about before, were you?" "Yeah, because when I say, 'I don't want to drink as much', I really mean-" "-Yeah, okay. But, for the record, you didn't say 'as much', CJ." "Toby." "You didn't, excuse me, but you said, 'I don't want to drink anymore', and-". "-fine." She stacked her glass on top of her plate and stood up. "What?" "I have to get some stuff from my office. I'll meet you there." He blinks, again, and then follows her. She looks tired as she rinses the dishes. She does it with such repetition that he reaches and turns the faucet off. "I know you hate it when I, but, is there something wrong?" "No." She stares at her hands, and then at him. "I feel like I've been doing this since I was twenty four." "What this?" "This. This. We get drunk and I go home with you. I'm sober, and I tell myself that things should be different, but then I know I'm just gonna get drunk and go home with you. And all the things that I said I wouldn't do: I won't get involved with someone from work, I won't get involved with someone who doesn't much like himself-". She stops and looks at him, again. "I won't get involved with you, again. I say I'm not going to do it, but then I do, because I know that I'm going to be in a bar, and I'm going to look at you, and, and, it's going to happen anyway." He never quite stopped thinking about Andi in moments like these. Andi packing her bags while he didn't watch Melrose Place on tv. The first night she didn't come home. The first night he didn't, either. "And it's been like this for, god, almost twenty years, Toby." CJ looked tired, and he knew that he loved her. He had just always thought that everything else was incidental. "Hey kids, come on. Sam wants to get at that pool table and I, quite frankly, want to open a can of whoop-ass the size of Delaware on him. Swear to god, if I have to hear about "the summer I learned to hustle" again and be expected not to make Richard Gere jokes, I'm gonna-" "Jesus Josh, take a fucking breath, would you?" Toby interrupts, barely shifting his gaze off of CJ. Josh misses a beat and then: "you know in some cultures, circular breathing is a much admired talent." CJ smiles, and Josh turns to her. "Hey, you've been absent-woman all day today. How did the television guys go?" "They didn't seem receptive to my 'the Internet will bring you down' joke, but otherwise fine." "So, what's the story? Are you coming to Michael's?" CJ uses her press corp voice to say: "Yeah. We've got a few things to talk about first, though, so we'll meet you there." "What things? Please, I want to go home tonight, please tell me they're not going to happen in the next eight hours." "They're not going to happen in the next eight hours." Toby interrupts, quickly. And then, quietly, she adds: "We're just talking, Josh. About the, the history of the world."