Disclaimer: Not even this idea is mine.

Summary: Spoilers for 20 Hours in America, the first two episodes of Season 4, and also Holy Night... takes place sometime after that. But anyone from the first 4 seasons that I want in the story are still around, continuity be thrown out a window and hit by a bus!

Note to soft lite: The Monster is dead... 38 pages.

***

CJ glanced around her as she silently counted. She glanced down at the pages in her hand and counted again. "Carol, we're one short."

Carol scanned the press filing onto the bus. "Danny."

CJ shook her head. "Find him, hurry up."

Carol hurried off in the direction she had last seen him going in, towards the vineyard. CJ smiled absently at the rest of the press getting onto the press bus while her eyes anxiously searched for Carol and Danny. She glanced at her watch as the buses started their engines. Tapping her foot, she kept looking at her watch every five seconds, until she finally stalked off in pursuit of Carol and Danny.

"Toby!" She yelled to him over the roar of the engines. "I have to go find Carol, wait until I get back."

Toby waved to her and gave her a thumbs up, so she kept walking, intent on finding her assistant before Toby couldn't stall the motorcade any longer.

***

"Really?" Danny scribbled furiously, glad that the trip hadn't been a total waste. At least he was getting a decent human interest story out of it. "I can't believe it."

Sami smiled at him. "There's more. Why don't we discuss the rest over dinner?"

"That'd be great. I just-"

"Danny!" Carol waved to him. "C'mon."

"Hold on, Sami. I'll be right back." Danny jogged over to Carol. "Any chance I can catch up with you guys later? I need the rest of my stuff, but..." He glanced back at Sami.

"You want to stay with her."

"Yeah." He flipped a few pages in his notebook. "I got this great story and-"

Carol laughed at him.

"What?"

She caught her breath. "Story? At least be honest with me."

"What do you mean?"

Carol rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mr. Innocent. In the time I was watching you two, she touched your arm twice, flipped her hair, and fluttered her eyelashes."

Danny's eyes grew wide as comprehension dawned. "You're kidding me? She's... and I... crap."

"You really didn't know?" Carol shook her head. "Men really are oblivious."

Danny closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed and opened them. "Okay, give me a second and I'll tell her no."

"Hurry up, CJ can only keep the motorcade for so long, the President needs to be kept on schedule."

Danny nodded, then jogged back to Sami. "Sorry, I have to get going. Maybe if I could have your email or number, I can let you know about the story."

"And a rain check for dinner, next time you're in this part of California?"

Danny smiled at her. "Of course, that'd be great."

She handed him a business card and kissed his cheek. "See ya Danny."

Danny turned back to Carol. Standing next to her was CJ, her eyes shooting daggers at him.

***

"Who is that?" CJ didn't bother to hide her disdain from Carol.

"No idea. Danny said he's doing a story on her or something." Carol kept her face neutral.

"Yeah, I bet. And the kiss was for luck."

"Could be. You know how these California girls are."

CJ pursed her lips. She remembered all too well. As Danny hurried towards them, she looked pointedly at her watch.

"Okay, I'm coming. CJ, let me-"

"Don't. Just walk, that's all I ask of you. We need to get to the motorcade."

"Please, CJ, can I just-"

"No." CJ stopped him with just a look.

"Let's go." Carol broke their silent glaring. "I'd rather not be stuck here."

"Although you could live for a week with what's in your bag." CJ grabbed Carol and began to walk quickly.

"Oh, yeah, like you should talk."

Danny followed them, listening amused as they bickered. He was the first to notice a problem. "The buses!"

CJ didn't waste a moment. She whipped out her cell phone and pushed speed dial. "Toby." Her voice was an accusation. She listened for a moment, then hung up.

"Did you get him?" Danny asked.

"Yep."

"You hung up on him." Carol observed.

"Yep."

Carol cracked a small smile, turning so CJ wouldn't see it. "Now what?"

CJ dialed again. "Sam. Yeah, you left us. Laugh and die. We'll try to make it to the next stop in time. No. Carol and Danny. Shut up. Okay, bye." She hung up and covered her face with her hands. "We're not gonna make Air Force One. We need to get to the airport and get on the next flight."

"Commercial." Danny sneered. "What a letdown."

CJ cracked a smile and Danny relaxed a bit. He knew this was a good sign.

"We'll get there a bit after Air Force One, a few hours or so. But it shouldn't be too bad."

"At least we don't have Josh or Toby with us." Carol consoled them, pulling out her own cell phone to call the airport. She drifted away, leaving CJ and Danny to talk.

"So, that story about those two guys left behind by the motorcade?"

"Never heard from again." CJ told him.

"But Josh and Toby were fine."

"Only because of Donna." CJ glanced at Carol. "Now we have Carol, so we should be okay as long as there's nothing with spelling involved."

"Whatever." Carol came back over. "I'll just be an unsung hero. We have a flight, leaves in a bit more than two hours. Air Force One takes off in a few minutes, so we'll be at the White House approximately six hours after they get there, counting time for the shuttle."

CJ nodded as Danny bowed. "My hero."

Carol flashed him a smile. "Thank you." she acknowledged the accolades.

"Let's go. Cab?" CJ began to walk towards the road, fiddling with her planner.

"On the way." Carol assured her. "It's picking us up at the gate to the main road."

"Main road?" CJ lifted her eyebrow.

"In a manner of speaking. That dirt thing we drove in on."

"You got a cab company to send a car to the middle of nowhere?"

"Yep." Carol grinned.

"What'd you promise?"

"You have to sleep with the cab driver."

CJ nodded as Danny choked. "Sounds reasonable."

"Oh, and he gets a big tip."

"In addition to the sex? Lucky guy." CJ shut the planner. "Oh and if we make it back to DC using your thrown-together plan, remind me to think about giving you a raise."

"I get a raise?" Carol asked, her eyes lighting up.

"No, but I will think about the idea." They reached the gate and CJ glanced down the road.

"Cool. Thanks, I know how busy you are. But you're going to think about me for a minute. Wow."

"Hey." Danny cut in. "If you're gonna be sarcastic about it, she can think about me for a minute instead."

Carol grinned. "Oh, she already does that, I'm sure."

CJ sputtered. "Carol! Danny, she's kidding."

Danny smiled widely. "I've decided to believe Carol."

CJ shook her head. "Of course you have." She hesitated a moment, then sobered. "I'm sure this is obvious, Danny..."

He nodded. "I know. But, to make it official. We are off the record, unless you decree otherwise, for the duration of this journey."

His eyes, glittering with amusement, caught hers. "Sounds good," she managed to get out.

Carol cleared her throat and they both looked away, reddening slightly. "Now that that's settled, we can really have some fun."

"And here's our chariot now." Danny pointed to a dot on the horizon.

"Wishful thinking?" CJ asked him.

"Well, we haven't seen any other cars go by, so I'm guessing it's not a busy road."

"So it's either someone a bit late to hear the president, or our cab."

"Think he'll want his payment up front?" Danny leered at CJ.

She nodded. "Probably."

He grinned. "Kinky."

She began to laugh, but stopped when she felt his fingers on her waist. She hadn't realized he was standing so close. She glanced at Carol, who was rummaging in her bag for lipstick and a brush.

She shook her head at him, and tried to give him a disapproving look. She failed as she felt his fingers leave trails of fire behind as they lightly tickled her side. She managed a small shake of her head and mouthed, "No."

His eyes flashing and a small grin on his face, he stepped even closer. His hand settled on her waist. She gripped it with her own hand and he tangled their fingers. His eyes never leaving hers, he brought their hands up and kissed hers.

The loud rushing in CJ's mind abated for a moment, long enough for Carol's voice to register. "...here somewhere..." She tore her eyes from Danny’s and gently untangled her fingers, stepping back.

"What, Carol?" She asked, still breathless.

"My comb." Carol glanced up from her purse to the slow-moving cab. "What if the cabby’s cute?"

"Then he's mine." CJ shot back, realizing she could regain her equilibrium if she pretended Danny wasn't standing next to her.

Carol shoved everything back in her bag. "Ah, well then. If I'm competing with you, I don't even need a comb."

"Smart girl. Giving up now." CJ nodded.

"Nah, figured I'll have no trouble. Have you seen your hair lately? Not to mention your make-up."

"Looks normal to me." Danny cut in.

"Oh." Carol grinned. "My mistake."

Danny groaned. "Walked right into that one."

"Rule number one." CJ told him as the cab pulled up. "Never admit that."

Danny nodded as he opened the door behind the driver's seat for Carol. "What's rule number two?"

"We'll tell you when you break it." Carol assured him. He shut the door on her grin.

"Great." He muttered. He went around the car to open CJ's door, but she was already half in. "Girls."

She grinned. "Boys have cooties." she shot back, then closed the door before he could respond. He shook his head and slid into he front seat.

***

"No answer." Carol hung up the phone.

"Good, at least they got off the ground then." CJ couldn't imagine any other reason for Toby not answering his phone.

"He might be pissed at you." Danny told her.

"Who?"

Toby."

"Why would he be pissed?" CJ glared at the message board in the terminal, willing the 'Delayed' sign to stop blinking.

"You hung up on him before."

"So?" Danny stared at her until she turned to look at him. She laughed. "Yeah, like that's the worst I've ever done to him."

Carol jumped up from the chair where she had been waiting. "Look! The delayed sign is gone."

CJ smiled, then looked and groaned. "Now it says 'Cancelled.' Carol, call... never mind."

Carol gave her a thumbs up as the phone, already at her ear, began to ring.

"She really does deserve a raise." Danny told CJ.

"No kidding." CJ muttered. "So now we wait while Ms. Organized works her magic."

They stared at one another for a long, silent moment. Then CJ pulled out her planner and began going through it. Danny watched her for a moment, then gently pried it from her hands and closed it.

"What are you doing?"

"We can just stand here and be silent, it's not awkward."

"I know it's not." CJ busied herself putting the planner away. "That's what worries me."

Before Danny could respond, Carol groaned and hung up the phone. "No flights for the rest of the night."

"What?" CJ stared at her. "That's insane. Why?"

"They won't tell me."

"Give me the phone." She dialed. "Margaret? CJ. White House still standing? No, we missed the plane. Carol's fine. Problem, the airport is shut down, can you find out why? And remember, I'm on a cell."

She put her hand over the mouthpiece. "She's checking."

Carol and Danny exchanged worried glances.

"Yeah, I'm still here. Okay, thanks. Us? We're going to find a hotel, I guess. We'll call you when we get there. Thanks Margaret." She glanced at the two, now looking inquisitively at her. "I can't tell you. But we need to get a hotel room for the night."

"Sounds like a set-up." Danny grinned at her. "Should I be concerned for my virtue?"

"Make yourself useful." Carol told him. "Call the hotels in the area." She pulled out a piece of paper. "Here's a list."

Danny stared at her for a moment. "Wow, you are prepared."

"Of course." she shooed him away. "Now go."

As soon as he was occupied on the phone, she turned to CJ. "What's going on?"

CJ spoke in a whisper. "All flights grounded. FBI intercepted some phone call. The airport may be evacuated at some point, at the very least all the flights are grounded. We should get out of here before they evacuate."

Carol's eyes clouded as she sat down heavily. "Margaret..."

"Is going to call when she knows anything. She'll call before they reopen so we can get here. But it's the cell, so she can't tell us much. If it's going to be longer than a day, maybe we'll try to find another way to get back."

"Can Air Force One come back and pick us up?"

CJ smiled. "I doubt it. But hey, never underestimate Margaret."

Danny came back with a big smile on his face. "Got us two rooms, less than a mile from here."

"Great."

"Connecting rooms, won't that be fun?"

"Oh, no way!" CJ shook her head vigorously.

"Only thing they had left. They just got a cancellation because of the airport closing."

CJ grimaced. "Fine, let's go."

"First, am I going to get anything out of the workers here?"

CJ stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "No, they don't know anything."

"Aright, then. Let's go. I'll lead the way."

"Cab?" CJ asked, hoping for a negative.

"Less than a mile? Nah, we can walk that. Maybe there's a convenience store between here and there." Danny opened the door for them, then pointed to the left.

"For what?" CJ fell into step beside him as Carol lagged behind.

"Drinks and snacks." Danny smiled. "It's not a proper stay in a hotel if you don't have drinks and snacks to stay up all night."

CJ groaned and drifted back to Carol. She gripped her arm and stage whispered, "Save me from the crazy man."

They fell silent as the airport quickly gave way to an area of hotels, car rental places, and small stores.

"7-Eleven?" Carol pointed out.

"Great!" Danny began to walk faster.

"Danny!"

"Oh, come on CJ." Carol pulled her along. "I could use some Twizzlers."

"Fine, fine." CJ gave in, hoping they had some goldfish in the small store.

Danny was already wandering the aisles when CJ and Carol caught up. "Hey, catch."

CJ reached up and caught the box of goldfish crackers. The cashier cleared his throat and Danny consoled him. "Don't worry, she's buying them."

She considered fighting him on it, just to see what the cashier would do. But she really did want the crackers, so she shrugged and moved to the drinks.

"Alcohol?" Carol asked her.

"Great idea." CJ told her. "Because with a reporter around, the one thing we definitely want to do is get drunk."

Carol rolled her eyes. "Fine, juice and soda it is."

"Orange juice." Danny appeared at CJ's elbow. "Wake us up until we can get to coffee."

"Although I'd rather sleep through this adventure." CJ said, even though she knew it wasn't true. "Wake me when we get to DC."

"Don't drool on my shoulder." Danny ordered before moving away to check out the chips.

Finally they were done. "You'd think we were twelve." CJ stared at the array of snacks on the counter.

"Isn't it great?" Danny put his arm around her shoulder for a moment and squeezed. "This is gonna be so much fun."

CJ glared at him for a moment until she finally rolled her eyes and chuckled. "C'mon, let's get to that motel before someone grabs our rooms."

***

Part 2