The Other Daughter
Pairing: None, for the moment…
Rating: Teen
Disclaimer: Some of the characters are mine, some are not. I trust you can tell the difference. Those who aren't mine belong to the folks as WB, NBC, and Aaron Sorkin and a variety of others. I'm using the name Leopold Thomas McGarry as Leo's actual first name. No idea if this is cannon or if someone made it up, but it seems to be the most popular name for him. Please don't sue me, I'm a student so all you'd get would be a visa bill and a computer.
Spoilers: This is pretty much as AU as they come. It's set in the first season but after Leo came clean regarding the pills and the drinking.
Feedback: As good as a can of coke on a hot day
Archive: please ask first
Thanks to Eleanor, the Worlds fastest beta!
Sidebar: " indicated dialogue and ' indicate thoughts
Leo was hunched over his desk, half reading a report and half listening to CJ's briefing on which was on one of the TV's in his office.
"CJ, CJ" the reporters all yelled. 'How she stands them, I'll never know', thought Leo.
"And the last question of the day goes to Steve," CJ said to one of the reporters in the second row.
"I have a source which says the name of one Leo Thomas McGarry appears on the birth certificate of one Mary Magdalene MacKenzie, born 4 July 1983 at George Washington Medical Center. Is this the child of White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry?" The room was silent. CJ paused for a beat before responding.
Leo's head popped up and watched the TV. Was his name on this child's birth certificate? Or was this some kind of mistake? He only had one child, but this one had been born during his drinking days…
"Steve, to my knowledge Leo McGarry only has one child, Mallory O'Brien as you all know. That's it for know, I'll see you all again at 2 o'clock."
CJ quickly left the briefing room and headed for Leo's office, with Carol on her heals.
"See if you can get me a copy of that birth certificate, check the birth registry offices for Maryland, DC, and Virginia," she said as she approached Leo's door.
Carol darted back for the bullpen as CJ walked up to Margaret's desk.
"Is he busy?"
"No, you can go in. He's just reading," the red head replied.
CJ walked into the office and found Leo staring at one of the TV's with a blank look on his face.
"Leo?" CJ gently asked.
Leo turned and looked at CJ, the blank stare turning to a perplexed frown.
"I don't know CJ. I just don't know. It's possible. Those were the drinking days, and there was more than one time I woke up with a stranger. I'd tell you to deny it but it could be the truth."
"I've asked Carol to track down a copy of the birth certificate. We can then see if you recognize the name and then if need be, we track down the kid and do a blood test. It'll be ok, Leo. We'll get through this." CJ said as she gently rubbed Leo's arm.
Josh, Toby, and Sam to you picked this moment to burst into Leo's office.
"Is it true?" Josh asked somewhat out to breath having clearly ran from the operations bullpen.
"We aren't sure guys," CJ responded. "I've got Carol looking into getting a copy of the birth certificate, to see if it even has his name on it. Then we play it by ear and see what happens."
"We wait and see," was all Leo could say.
Meanwhile, across town, a young girl sat in a crowded waiting room of the Department of Vital Statistics, waiting to pick up a copy of her birth certificate. She had long brown hair, big brown eyes and a crooked smile capped off with a dimple on each side. She had a generic looking backpack on her lap.
'I hope they call my number soon. I have Political Science class in 20 minutes and it's a 10 minute walk to school' she thought nervously. She couldn't be late for school.
She had busted her butt to raise enough money to go on the school trip to Italy. Now all she needed to do was get her passport, which required her birth certificate. Her social worker told her that the original copy had long since disappeared into the bowels of the DC Department of Children and Family Services and that she would have to get another copy. She had done some more babysitting to cover the $25 fee.
"Number 34," the lady at the counter announced.
The young girl got up and walked over to the counter. 'Finally!' she thought.
"Pick up slip, please," the woman asked.
The young girl handed the women the piece of paper with the request number on it.
"ID, please," the woman asked again.
The young girl produced her laminated ID card for the District of Columbia and gave it to the woman.
"I'll be right back," she said as she waddled to the back corner of the office area behind the counter.
'Will you hurry up' the girl thought, 'I'm on a freaking timeline here'
"Here you go Ms. MacKenzie," the woman said as she handed the girl an envelope and her ID.
"Thank you very much," Mary replied as she stuffed the envelope into her bag.
She rushed out of the building and started to run down the street, never stopping until she took her seat in Mr. Dewey's Political Science class. She pulled her binder out of her bag and the envelope fell on the floor. She picked it up and took the opportunity to open it just before her teacher started on an introduction of the staff of President Jed Bartlett.
Child's name: Mary Magdalene MacKenzie
Date of Birth: 4 July 1983
Place of Birth: Washington, DCName of Mother: Cassandra Marie MacKenzie
Name of Father: Leo Thomas McGarry
'What? But this right before it can't be the same person'
"The Chief of staff for the White House is Leo McGarry…"Mr. Dewey droned on.
'It can't be the same person, can it?' she thought. 'He's not my father, is he?'
TBC...