This story is set during Season 4 as Leslie continues her campaign. It diverges from the canon as Jennifer Barkley is appointed to run Bobby Newport's city council election campaign...
It had been another mismatched attempt to run a simple election dinner. Leslie had realised as she descended the stage resignedly, although the sight of her under qualified team filled her with the usual fondness, that her campaign was never going to run in the smooth way she had imagined as a young girl. In fact, it had been more of a surprise to her that she was excited, intrigued almost, to see if it was possible to win a city council position in such a manner. Because in all truth, despite it being her lifelong dream, there was no group of people she would rather lose an election with than those who met her at the bottom of the steps from the stage.
"Not bad, given the circumstances," Ron was first to greet her, a fleeting but friendly look of satisfaction beneath his moustache, not quite a smile, but by his standards, an expression of pure joy. Leslie nodded absentmindedly, pleased to see her friends but hoping to see just one face amongst the small crowd that surrounded her.
"Where's Ben?" she asked casually, ignoring the usual, persistent worry that filled her head. Whilst it was a blessing to have such an active mind when trying to come up with new parks schemes, she often cursed her runaway thoughts when a lack of her campaign manager left her with only a few morbid thoughts. They were only backed up when the rest of the group began to look around, equally confused.
"He was here at the start of your talk," Ann assured her, still glancing around the haphazardly decorated room where local business representatives had began to eat. A few of them continued to flick through a hurriedly put together leaflet, Ben's handiwork, nodding to themselves at Leslie's proposed changes. It may have been a rushed job, but her misfit team knew how to pull off an event on a small budget.
"Maybe he's talking to some of the endorsers," Leslie said eventually although there was no sign of the familiar windswept brown hair amongst the mostly greying heads around the room. Ann was quick to nod, a strained smile on her face as she continued to look around. April stood close to Andy, the latter looking oblivious as she displayed a rare expression of concern. The group dispersed and Leslie took off after April's retreating figure, ignoring the voice of her campaign manager in her head telling her she should talk to the business managers.
April ducked into the women's toilets at the end of the corridor as Leslie rounded the corner and narrowed her eyes. The younger woman was not known to disappear so swiftly when there were opportunities to pour salt in someone's drink or else cause trouble in some other creative manner.
She was stood at the sinks, washing her hands automatically but only focusing on her reflection in the mirror, staring with a thoughtful frown. Leslie moved to stand behind her, her own reflection mimicking the look of concern, dressed up in her usual blazer and shirt. She tried to smile at April, looking into her reflected eyes but only meeting conflict.
"He left the room after he looked at his phone." She spoke quietly and in her usual dismissive tone as if they were discussing nothing more interesting than the lacklustre weather. "His face was all screwed up, you know? I mean, he was tired, we all are, but he looked unhappy too." Leslie moved forward, barely noticing her hands as they pressed firmly on the washbasins.
"How long ago?" she asked urgently. April shrugged, sighing deeply when Leslie's expression refused to let her get away with such a nonchalant answer.
"It's like Ann said; he was there for the start of the speech," she echoed monotonously, "You'd just finished that crappy joke about Lil' Sebastian, still too soon by the way, when he got the text. He frowned for a minute and then put his drink down on the side and walked out of the room." Leslie did not speak for a moment, her own eyebrows creased into a frown until she looked up more determinedly.
"Get everyone together and meet me backstage in five minutes," she ordered quickly, her hand on the door handle before April had a chance to respond.
"But they'll all be talking to random rich people by now," she complained quietly, dragging her feet after Leslie, "Isn't your campaign more important than where Ben went? Maybe someone died, people tend to get all sad about that, don't they?" Leslie spun on her heel, raising her eyebrows in a silent challenge.
"I'm not talking to any of those officials until Ben has been found, okay?" She did not wait for an answer, leaving April to round up the rest of the group like a herd of sheep. They returned behind the curtain that draped across the stage one at a time, all of them hiding yawns and tired stretches.
"We need to find Ben," Leslie began when all but April had returned, "He left halfway through the speech and didn't tell anyone where he was going."
"Maybe he went to get a drink," Tom suggested as if it was the most obvious solution. Ron nodded in agreement, a look of mild exasperation on his face, "He's been working harder than everyone all week Leslie - he probably wanted to get away from it all for a minute."
"By himself?" Leslie asked unconvinced. She remembered him pointing out a small bar on the short drive over to the venue but pointedly remembered him suggest that they went there together to celebrate after the evening was over.
"I always drink alone," Ron justified under his breath, "He drinks weak alcohol anyway; perhaps he is finally embarrassed of his low alcohol tolerance." Ann and Leslie both shot him an angry look as the rest of the group continued to talk over each other.
"-He probably went home-"
"-went back to the office-"
"-remembered something urgent-"
"-forgot to record Game of Thrones..."
Everyone turned to look at Tom who threw his hands up in protest, his mouth shaped into a tight circle.
"What? The guy's a nerd," he defended in a high pitch, "Just enjoy the night, Leslie. Ben will be back before you know it."
Ben was not back before she knew it. He did not return to the dinner all night, leaving Leslie to circle the room without him hovering at her side, leaving each conversation and waiting for the sarcastic comment to come from over her shoulder but never hearing one. She secured some more votes, rolled her eyes at some insistent Newport supporters and spent most of her time undoing the damage Jennifer Barkley, Bobby's famous, well-qualified campaign manager, had caused.
"Something's happened," she finally burst out as the final patrons shook her hand and left the now sorry looking, decrepit room. Ann took hold of her hands and led her to one corner, seating her on a nearby chair and pulling up her own. In a second, there was a glass in her hand and Ann's insistent gestures for her to drink.
"You can't shut me up with alcohol," Leslie complained between sips, "Ben doesn't do this sort of thing. He never takes off like this. And April said he looked worried. Should we call the police? Do we need to file a missing person's report?" Ann rubbed her forehead exhaustedly, shaking her head at each comment and waiting for a break in the breathless tirade.
"Listen, Leslie. He went home, wanted to take advantage of having the house to himself. I don't think he slept last night and it's nearly flu season so maybe he didn't feel well. April and Andy have left already and if he isn't at home, I'm sure they'll let you know." Leslie disliked that there even was an 'if' but her worries fell on deaf ears when another drink arrived in her free hand.
"We're all tired, especially you," Ann reassured her quietly, "Let us clear up here and then I'll drive you home." She spoke slowly as if she was addressing a child, patting Leslie's knee sympathetically and joining Donna and Jerry as they folded a table cloth between them.
"-he is used to a life on the road," Donna was saying as she came within hearing distance, "Maybe this is what he does: drops failing projects before they can ruin his reputation even more." Jerry shook his head but wasn't able to argue back before Ann interrupted.
"He's been gone for a couple of hours!" she exclaimed, lowering her voice when Leslie's downcast eyes raised in her direction slightly, "Leslie thinks he's gone missing, Tom says he's drowning his sorrows in alcohol and now you're jumping to the conclusion that he just takes off all the time." Donna held up her hands at first but then looked towards the ground ashamedly.
"You're right," she conceded uncharacteristically softly, "I'm just really not in the mood to go on a wild goose chase." Ann patted her arm knowingly and worked through her options in her head, settling on the kindest one.
"That won't be necessary," she said firmly, "Ben will be at Andy and April's, we just need to wait for them to call."
Leslie's phone rang as the final tables were stacked to one side and the campaign poster was pulled from the wall. She picked up quickly, listening intently to a rambled, rushed explanation.
"And we looked in every room," Andy was saying anxiously, clearly reluctant to say the one most important sentence, "I'm sure it's fine though. Oh, and April wants to talk to you." The phone was exchanged and the speaker crackled slightly as it brushed over someone's clothes.
"April?" Leslie asked quietly, hopefully.
"He's not here," she replied bluntly although her voice wavered gently, "No one has been here since this afternoon, it's still as much of a tip as me and Andy left it in. There's no way an organised nerd like Ben would be able to sleep somewhere so untidy." It would have sounded like an insult if April hadn't sounded so unusually fond of Ben's fussing tendencies. Leslie found herself smiling longingly at the sound of April's backhanded compliments but it faltered when she realised the implications. Ann had crossed the room and stood expectantly, gesturing questioningly.
"He hasn't been home."