Spoiler warning!: Ellie
Rating: G
Summary: My follow up on Ellie. The president and his daughter try to sort
out some problems that started long ago.
A/n: This is my first attempt at WW fanfic, so I'd appreciate any comments
my fellow readers/authors may have. Thanks a bunch and I hope you enjoy.
Ta Ta!
"And I go out..?" Ellie asked with mildly disguised embarrassment
"That door over there" Jed answered, his anger slowly turning to disappointment as he watched his middle daughter shift from one foot to the other uncomfortably.
Ellie walked over to the door and nearly bumped into Charlie. Ellie watched his face turn awkwardly into a gentle smile and it was obvious to her that he had heard some if not all that had been said between herself and her father. She ducked her head and quickly side stepped him, holding back the emotion that threatened to spill over. After hearing the click of the door closing behind Charlie she took a couple of deep breaths and walked out of the outer office and into the bustling hallway that lead to many places including the communications bullpen and the residence. Keeping to the wall she walked at a fast pace, keeping her face shielded as much as possible in the hopes that no-one would recognise her and perhaps want to stop for a 'Good to see you again' chat. So caught up in her plan to get to the residence, as quickly as possible, and with the littlest contact possible, she didn't notice the black suit that stepped out of an office and straight into her path. With her head down she literally ran into a hard body almost causing her to topple off to the side. A hand shot out to steady her before she crumpled, quickly followed by another one on her shoulder.
" I'm sorry, thanks-you.." she muttered, keeping her head down and trying to dislodge the hands that where keeping her still, without seeming rude or upset.
" Ellie?" a deep, gruff, but gentle voice questioned.
Ellie knew the voice as well as her own fathers and it brought her face out from the veil of hair.
" Oh hi Leo.I'm sorry, I should have been looking where I was going." she muttered, her voice slightly shaken.
"Ellie are you ok?" Leo probed gently, hearing the ill-disguised tremor that threaded through her usually confident tone.
On hearing no immediate reply Leo knew instinctively that something must have happened in the office joined to his own. Walking around behind her without removing the firm grasp he had on her shoulder he gently pushed her to walk into his outer office and eventually through the entrance that led to his own sanctuary. Leading her to the small but comfy couch he pushed her down and walked back to his door, muttering something to Margaret before closing it with a soft click and turning back to his goddaughter. Ellie sat small and quiet where he had deposited her, her face covered by a thick wall of hair. Leo sighed and walked to his desk, grabbing one of the chairs and dragging it over to sit on front of the president's daughter.
" So I'm guessing that your dad wailed on you in the oval? Over the comments you gave to Danny?" he asked gently
There was only a small nod of her head.
" Yeah, well, you had that coming to you kid, and you knew that before you picked up the phone and dialled Danny Concannon's number." He said with a little anger in his voice.
" I know," she whispered, clearly still upset.
Leo watched as her head slowly lifted, revealing a tear-streaked face and a trembling lip.
" I'm sorry Leo.." she whispered, her eyes squeezing shut in a vain attempt to stop fresh tears.
Leo sighed heavily again and moved to sit next to her on the small sofa, placing a strong arm around her small frame he pulled her into him and comfortingly rubbed small circles on her back as she buried her face in his suit jacket. Before he had a chance to murmur comforting words, or statements of advice and wisdom he heard the door leading to the oval office click open and the president's shadow fill the space. Pressing Ellie's body closer to his he quickly placed a hand on the side of her face, covering the ear that wasn't buried in his jacket, and holding her head where it was. He watched as the president appeared in his doorway, and watched as he froze where he was, his eyes trained on Leo's expression. Leo tried to communicate through his facial features alone, something he had gotten pretty good at over the past two years. He let his head fall slightly to the side and pulled his mouth up on one corner, his eyes staying sad and regretful.
Jed watched his best friend as he tried to communicate to him his guilt in consoling his daughter, and his reasons for doing so. The president simply nodded and motioned with a twist of the head that he would be next door if he needed him. He left as quietly as he had entered, leaving his daughter totally unaware of his presence in the first place
Leo stared at the space where his friend had stood for a few seconds before gently extraditing Ellie from her hiding place. Putting her to arms reach he tilted her chin so he could see her face and began to talk in a gentle but serious tone.
" Ellie I'm not going to lecture you on the right's and wrong's of what happened here today. That's what the man next door's for."
As if suddenly aware of the fact that the office she had fled from was only a door away, she nervously looked over, only to have her chin grasped and firmly set in front again.
" He's not going to come in.your going in there."
He watched as her face changed from relief to disbelief to fear in the time it took him to finish the short sentence. Before she had the chance to form any words she was cut off again by the man sitting in front of her, the man she had known her whole life.
" Ellie, you're going in there, if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you in there then that's what I'll do but your going. I'm not having a pissed off President and an upset goddaughter on my hands all day. Look, your telling me your sorry kid, and I'm not the one you should be telling. Now, I know you thought you were doing the right thing, the proper thing and I understand that. So does your dad by the way, and I'm sure he'll tell you that once he calms down. But you where also wrong and for that you need to apologise. Don't push him away Ellie. I know he's sometimes.."
He paused looking for the right words
" Sometimes a pain in the ass, but he's your father and the President of the United States, he's bound to have some bad days. He's under a huge amount of pressure, every minute of every day, and I know you're not responsible for that, but it doesn't help the situation when you stay out of contact for weeks at a time. You know what the problem is between you two? You're too much alike. Your both stubborn and refuse to say your wrong when you are."
He paused and let his words sink in, reaching into his trouser pocket for his handkerchief and handing it over to her.
" Now young lady, you know what your gonna do? Your gonna walk into that office and sort things out. And if it's not sorted out within the hour I am personally gonna knock both your heads together, you got it?"
Ellie let a small smile creep into her features as she patted her face dry, taking a trembling breath as she stood.
Leo placed a guiding hand on her back and led her to the adjoining door, taking a deep breath he knocked twice. After hearing the 'come on in' he partially opened the door and took a few steps, until he was standing just inside the oval office.
" Good afternoon Mr President."
" Afternoon Leo."
There was a pause as they looked across the room at each other.
" There's someone I think you should meet while you have a break. You'll like her, sure she's a little stubborn and pig headed but overall she's a good kid." Leo said with a smirk.
Jed smiled at his chief of staff's attempt to lighten the mood and nodded his head as a signal he was both ready and willing to see the kid in question. His kid.
Leo glanced behind him and muttered something that the president couldn't make out. Whatever it was was quickly forgotten as his middle daughter once more stepped into the office and looked at her father.
" Well I'll be next door if you need me sir, and I'll talk to you later kid." He opened his arms to Ellie and gave a brief hug before disappearing back through the door he had just come from.
Ellie stood uncomfortably, glancing between her father and the office in general. When she heard the quiet request from him she visibly jumped.
" Sit down Elle"
Walking slowly over to the massive desk she sat down on one of the chairs, and focussed her gaze on one of the American flags with the presidential seal, that sat behind her fathers chair.
" Talk to me Ellie. Please."
The soft, almost pleading request wasn't what she had expected at all, and it caught her slightly off guard. Wringing her hands together she stood and began to pace around the office, searching for the right things to say.
" I don't know what to say really. I guess I should start by saying I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to upset you dad and I didn't do what I did to make you unhappy. I'm also sorry about the quote. It was selfish and stupid of me not to consider the political ramifications that such an act could cause. I should know better and I'm sorry. Really." She paused in front of the desk, standing on the seal of the carpet and looked to her father to see what his reaction would be. She watched as he stood and walked around the desk, coming to stand on the other side of the seal, his face unreadable but his stance easy. When a small and gentle smile light his features, Ellie immediately stepped forward and threw her arms around him, mimicking her earlier actions with Leo as she buried her head in his shoulder.
"I'm sorry too Ellie, for yelling at you earlier. I know your intention wasn't to make me mad, you were just trying to protect your godmother and I understand that. But you have to remember the position it puts me in."
He felt her nodding against her shoulder and pulled her away to arms reach.
" Now, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"
Ellie's face twisted in confusion and she shook her head in enquiry.
" Well you haven't been here in weeks, you don't call, and I have to issue orders to find out how you are getting on and what you've been up to. I want to know why Ellie."
Ellie backed away a few steps and looked to the seal on the ground.
" I haven't told you. I thought about it in the past two years but I knew it would make you sad and I've kept it to myself."
She paused and brought her eyes back up to meet her father's worried face.
" When you decided to run for president I was happy for you. We all were, and we all stood by you. But as the campaign went on I started to see what it was doing to you, how much of your time was taken up with meetings and rallies, interviews and travelling. I hardly saw you between college and the election. And then you were sworn in, you won and you took office." She paused looking around the office, walking the short distance to his desk and skimming her hands on the thick wooden top as she rounded it and sat on his chair.
" There was a time period of five weeks between the day you were sworn in and the first time I saw you as president. Did you know it was that long? I was staying in Baltimore, at the dorms, and you and mom where moving into the white house for the first few weeks. Then there were meetings and staff issues and political agenda's to set up. There was always something that meant I would be interrupting if I showed up on the doorstep. The first day I came into the west wing and was directed to this office I was actually nervous about seeing you for the first time in my life. There were secret service agents lining the halls, hundreds of people working for you that I had never seen in my life and a big white door standing between my daddy and me. Do you remember that day dad? I knocked on the door, you shouted 'come in' and I came in and do you know what I saw? I saw the President of the United States sitting behind the Kennedy desk, in the oval office, in the white house. I was scared, and the reason I was scared was because the line between seeing you as my father and seeing you as the president became blurred. I wasn't standing looking at my daddy anymore, I was looking at the president, and that had happened because I hadn't seen you the entire year before."
She stopped for breath, standing now, leaning over the desk her voice rising and fresh tear tracks lining her face.
"And it still happens. It's a vicious circle. I stay away cause I'm scared, then I come down cause I feel guilty, and I step in here, in this office and I'm standing talking to the president and not my father and it hurts dad.it hurts and I just want it to be like it was.."
She couldn't speak anymore and collapsed in the chair, burying her head in her arms on top of his desk.
The President of the United States was for once in his life speechless. He felt as though someone had hit him on the chest with something heavy and sharp, and he couldn't form the words he was trying to say for the pain in his chest. Rubbing a hand over his face he stared at his daughter as he processed what she had said. Could it be true? Was Millie right? What she had said sure added up to the same thing Millie was trying to drive home earlier. The only question was now.what the hell could he do about it? All this time he had been blaming her, angry that she chose to stay away from him, when the actual truth was that, yes, she was actually scared of him. She was scared of his title, of his position; he intimidated her, like so many others that came through that door every day. He could see it when they stepped into the office. The nervous handshake and the beads of sweat, the timid voice and stuttering and the way he had to convince them that he was actually human before any real work could be done. He never in the world thought that the person he would need to convince of his humanity would be his own daughter. Taking a few steps towards his desk he paused, his mind consumed with broken sentences and half formed sentiments, trying desperately to find the right thing to say to the young woman sobbing all over Toby's speech.
" Ellie.?" he whispered, discouraged when she didn't budge.
Rubbing his hands together he backed away from the desk and made his way quietly towards the door. Sticking his head out he motioned for Charlie to come over and whispered in his ear. Charlie backed off with a frown plastered across his face but upon seeing no comical expression or hint that he was joking he simply nodded his head and went to his desk, picking up the phone and motioning for Mrs Langdinham to come over too.
Clicking the office door shut he turned to see Ellie staring at him from behind the desk, her face swollen and red from crying and her posture sad and defeated. It almost broke his heart. He walked over to the far end of his office and stood before one of the bookcases, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
" You know what I was just thinking?" he started, earning her attention and keeping it.
" I was thinking about the time you and I spent the day at the circus when you were about 12 years old. Your mom had taken your sisters to your grandmothers for the day, you didn't want to go and there was no question that I didn't want to go so I went out and bought the tickets. You were so excited too. We got cotton candy, rode the big wheel, got hot dogs and soda, all the things your mom would have never allowed. You won a huge teddy bear at the stalls, which I had to carry around cause you said it wasn't cool. You remember that?"
He watched nervously for any sign that she was concentrating on the conversation. He could have jumped in the air with joy when she smiled softly in recollection and nodded her head slightly. He smiled too and began walking very slowly towards the desk, taking his suit jacket and tie off as he went.
" Remember too the barbeque? At the farm? It was after your sister's graduation, and we had a big crowd gathered round, beer, chilli, banners and a band. You fell off the big oak and scratched your leg, and I was too busy being the governor to notice. Leo picked you up and carried you inside the house so that mom could patch you up. Leo came out and told me and I ran into the house to see if you were ok. You were sitting on the kitchen counter with a big white bandage on your leg and a scowl that could match your mothers on your face, aimed at me. I tried to talk to you and tell you I was sorry it wasn't me that picked you up but you shouted at me and cried and I didn't know what to do. So I left you alone. I walked out of the house and back to the party to finish up the conversation that could have gotten me some more support."
He paused, looking sad, sorry and not at all presidential. He let a rueful smile pass his features.
" I guess things haven't changed a whole lot since then have they?"
Ellie was silent and expressionless for a moment; studying her father from the position he usually studied others from. After what seemed like an eternal silent attempt at communication she let a small smile of her own appear on her lips. Her voice was croaky when she spoke.
" Yeah they have dad. I don't climb big ole oaks anymore."
Jed took a deep breath and smiled warmly at his daughter. Leo was right, they were both stubborn and that was probably he closest he would get to an absolution. She looked so small sitting behind the big desk; it was hard to not picture her being 12 years old again. But she wasn't. She was an intelligent, beautiful, sometimes stubborn, wonderful young woman, and he couldn't have been any prouder as a father than he was in that moment.
Waltzing over to the desk he sat in one of chairs usually reserved for parties or individuals who were visiting the president. It felt funny to be on this side of the desk. Ellie must have noticed his discomfort.
" Not a very nice feeling is it?" she said with a smile
Jed released a rich laugh and smiled warmly at his daughter who was suddenly sitting a little straighter and looking at the documents on his desk.
" What did my chief of staff say that somehow convinced you to enter the lions den once more?"
Ellie's attention snapped from the papers on his desk to her father, who was leaning back comfortably on the chair.
" Well he said that we were both too alike. And he also said that if we didn't sort this out he was personally gonna knock our heads together."
" Sounds like Leo to me"
Ellie nodded and smiled with her father before returning her attention to the piles of paper sorted out in front of her.
" You know that the papers you are reading are confidential, and for the presidents eyes only don't you?"
Ellie quickly looked away and began stuttering about not really reading anything when the smile that spread across his face stopped her short, causing an angry frown to take it's place.
" Hey Mister that's not funny. I thought you were serious there for a minute!"
" Yeah I know, but it was worth the look on your face."
Before she could say anything further on the matter he plunged in with his next question.
" Want to spend the rest of the day with me?"
Ellie's frown deepened for a moment, before her face twisted in confusion and perhaps a little hope.
" You don't have to work?" she asked timidly
" Well, I'll probably need about half an hour to calm Leo and Toby down but after that I'm all yours if you'll have me. I cleared my schedule for the rest of the day. I thought maybe we could, you know, just hang out for a little while."
Ellie's face cracked into a huge smile as she stood and held her hand across the desk in a professional manner.
" I think you have yourself a deal Mr President."
Jed stood and grasped her hand firmly, shaking it as he spoke.
" Good. Wanna come watch me make Leo mad?" he smiled evilly
She let out a girlish laugh and came out from behind the desk to the warm embrace of her father.
" Sure dad."
Hand in hand they made their way towards the chief of staff's office, each with their private message of thanks to convey.
"And I go out..?" Ellie asked with mildly disguised embarrassment
"That door over there" Jed answered, his anger slowly turning to disappointment as he watched his middle daughter shift from one foot to the other uncomfortably.
Ellie walked over to the door and nearly bumped into Charlie. Ellie watched his face turn awkwardly into a gentle smile and it was obvious to her that he had heard some if not all that had been said between herself and her father. She ducked her head and quickly side stepped him, holding back the emotion that threatened to spill over. After hearing the click of the door closing behind Charlie she took a couple of deep breaths and walked out of the outer office and into the bustling hallway that lead to many places including the communications bullpen and the residence. Keeping to the wall she walked at a fast pace, keeping her face shielded as much as possible in the hopes that no-one would recognise her and perhaps want to stop for a 'Good to see you again' chat. So caught up in her plan to get to the residence, as quickly as possible, and with the littlest contact possible, she didn't notice the black suit that stepped out of an office and straight into her path. With her head down she literally ran into a hard body almost causing her to topple off to the side. A hand shot out to steady her before she crumpled, quickly followed by another one on her shoulder.
" I'm sorry, thanks-you.." she muttered, keeping her head down and trying to dislodge the hands that where keeping her still, without seeming rude or upset.
" Ellie?" a deep, gruff, but gentle voice questioned.
Ellie knew the voice as well as her own fathers and it brought her face out from the veil of hair.
" Oh hi Leo.I'm sorry, I should have been looking where I was going." she muttered, her voice slightly shaken.
"Ellie are you ok?" Leo probed gently, hearing the ill-disguised tremor that threaded through her usually confident tone.
On hearing no immediate reply Leo knew instinctively that something must have happened in the office joined to his own. Walking around behind her without removing the firm grasp he had on her shoulder he gently pushed her to walk into his outer office and eventually through the entrance that led to his own sanctuary. Leading her to the small but comfy couch he pushed her down and walked back to his door, muttering something to Margaret before closing it with a soft click and turning back to his goddaughter. Ellie sat small and quiet where he had deposited her, her face covered by a thick wall of hair. Leo sighed and walked to his desk, grabbing one of the chairs and dragging it over to sit on front of the president's daughter.
" So I'm guessing that your dad wailed on you in the oval? Over the comments you gave to Danny?" he asked gently
There was only a small nod of her head.
" Yeah, well, you had that coming to you kid, and you knew that before you picked up the phone and dialled Danny Concannon's number." He said with a little anger in his voice.
" I know," she whispered, clearly still upset.
Leo watched as her head slowly lifted, revealing a tear-streaked face and a trembling lip.
" I'm sorry Leo.." she whispered, her eyes squeezing shut in a vain attempt to stop fresh tears.
Leo sighed heavily again and moved to sit next to her on the small sofa, placing a strong arm around her small frame he pulled her into him and comfortingly rubbed small circles on her back as she buried her face in his suit jacket. Before he had a chance to murmur comforting words, or statements of advice and wisdom he heard the door leading to the oval office click open and the president's shadow fill the space. Pressing Ellie's body closer to his he quickly placed a hand on the side of her face, covering the ear that wasn't buried in his jacket, and holding her head where it was. He watched as the president appeared in his doorway, and watched as he froze where he was, his eyes trained on Leo's expression. Leo tried to communicate through his facial features alone, something he had gotten pretty good at over the past two years. He let his head fall slightly to the side and pulled his mouth up on one corner, his eyes staying sad and regretful.
Jed watched his best friend as he tried to communicate to him his guilt in consoling his daughter, and his reasons for doing so. The president simply nodded and motioned with a twist of the head that he would be next door if he needed him. He left as quietly as he had entered, leaving his daughter totally unaware of his presence in the first place
Leo stared at the space where his friend had stood for a few seconds before gently extraditing Ellie from her hiding place. Putting her to arms reach he tilted her chin so he could see her face and began to talk in a gentle but serious tone.
" Ellie I'm not going to lecture you on the right's and wrong's of what happened here today. That's what the man next door's for."
As if suddenly aware of the fact that the office she had fled from was only a door away, she nervously looked over, only to have her chin grasped and firmly set in front again.
" He's not going to come in.your going in there."
He watched as her face changed from relief to disbelief to fear in the time it took him to finish the short sentence. Before she had the chance to form any words she was cut off again by the man sitting in front of her, the man she had known her whole life.
" Ellie, you're going in there, if I have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you in there then that's what I'll do but your going. I'm not having a pissed off President and an upset goddaughter on my hands all day. Look, your telling me your sorry kid, and I'm not the one you should be telling. Now, I know you thought you were doing the right thing, the proper thing and I understand that. So does your dad by the way, and I'm sure he'll tell you that once he calms down. But you where also wrong and for that you need to apologise. Don't push him away Ellie. I know he's sometimes.."
He paused looking for the right words
" Sometimes a pain in the ass, but he's your father and the President of the United States, he's bound to have some bad days. He's under a huge amount of pressure, every minute of every day, and I know you're not responsible for that, but it doesn't help the situation when you stay out of contact for weeks at a time. You know what the problem is between you two? You're too much alike. Your both stubborn and refuse to say your wrong when you are."
He paused and let his words sink in, reaching into his trouser pocket for his handkerchief and handing it over to her.
" Now young lady, you know what your gonna do? Your gonna walk into that office and sort things out. And if it's not sorted out within the hour I am personally gonna knock both your heads together, you got it?"
Ellie let a small smile creep into her features as she patted her face dry, taking a trembling breath as she stood.
Leo placed a guiding hand on her back and led her to the adjoining door, taking a deep breath he knocked twice. After hearing the 'come on in' he partially opened the door and took a few steps, until he was standing just inside the oval office.
" Good afternoon Mr President."
" Afternoon Leo."
There was a pause as they looked across the room at each other.
" There's someone I think you should meet while you have a break. You'll like her, sure she's a little stubborn and pig headed but overall she's a good kid." Leo said with a smirk.
Jed smiled at his chief of staff's attempt to lighten the mood and nodded his head as a signal he was both ready and willing to see the kid in question. His kid.
Leo glanced behind him and muttered something that the president couldn't make out. Whatever it was was quickly forgotten as his middle daughter once more stepped into the office and looked at her father.
" Well I'll be next door if you need me sir, and I'll talk to you later kid." He opened his arms to Ellie and gave a brief hug before disappearing back through the door he had just come from.
Ellie stood uncomfortably, glancing between her father and the office in general. When she heard the quiet request from him she visibly jumped.
" Sit down Elle"
Walking slowly over to the massive desk she sat down on one of the chairs, and focussed her gaze on one of the American flags with the presidential seal, that sat behind her fathers chair.
" Talk to me Ellie. Please."
The soft, almost pleading request wasn't what she had expected at all, and it caught her slightly off guard. Wringing her hands together she stood and began to pace around the office, searching for the right things to say.
" I don't know what to say really. I guess I should start by saying I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to upset you dad and I didn't do what I did to make you unhappy. I'm also sorry about the quote. It was selfish and stupid of me not to consider the political ramifications that such an act could cause. I should know better and I'm sorry. Really." She paused in front of the desk, standing on the seal of the carpet and looked to her father to see what his reaction would be. She watched as he stood and walked around the desk, coming to stand on the other side of the seal, his face unreadable but his stance easy. When a small and gentle smile light his features, Ellie immediately stepped forward and threw her arms around him, mimicking her earlier actions with Leo as she buried her head in his shoulder.
"I'm sorry too Ellie, for yelling at you earlier. I know your intention wasn't to make me mad, you were just trying to protect your godmother and I understand that. But you have to remember the position it puts me in."
He felt her nodding against her shoulder and pulled her away to arms reach.
" Now, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"
Ellie's face twisted in confusion and she shook her head in enquiry.
" Well you haven't been here in weeks, you don't call, and I have to issue orders to find out how you are getting on and what you've been up to. I want to know why Ellie."
Ellie backed away a few steps and looked to the seal on the ground.
" I haven't told you. I thought about it in the past two years but I knew it would make you sad and I've kept it to myself."
She paused and brought her eyes back up to meet her father's worried face.
" When you decided to run for president I was happy for you. We all were, and we all stood by you. But as the campaign went on I started to see what it was doing to you, how much of your time was taken up with meetings and rallies, interviews and travelling. I hardly saw you between college and the election. And then you were sworn in, you won and you took office." She paused looking around the office, walking the short distance to his desk and skimming her hands on the thick wooden top as she rounded it and sat on his chair.
" There was a time period of five weeks between the day you were sworn in and the first time I saw you as president. Did you know it was that long? I was staying in Baltimore, at the dorms, and you and mom where moving into the white house for the first few weeks. Then there were meetings and staff issues and political agenda's to set up. There was always something that meant I would be interrupting if I showed up on the doorstep. The first day I came into the west wing and was directed to this office I was actually nervous about seeing you for the first time in my life. There were secret service agents lining the halls, hundreds of people working for you that I had never seen in my life and a big white door standing between my daddy and me. Do you remember that day dad? I knocked on the door, you shouted 'come in' and I came in and do you know what I saw? I saw the President of the United States sitting behind the Kennedy desk, in the oval office, in the white house. I was scared, and the reason I was scared was because the line between seeing you as my father and seeing you as the president became blurred. I wasn't standing looking at my daddy anymore, I was looking at the president, and that had happened because I hadn't seen you the entire year before."
She stopped for breath, standing now, leaning over the desk her voice rising and fresh tear tracks lining her face.
"And it still happens. It's a vicious circle. I stay away cause I'm scared, then I come down cause I feel guilty, and I step in here, in this office and I'm standing talking to the president and not my father and it hurts dad.it hurts and I just want it to be like it was.."
She couldn't speak anymore and collapsed in the chair, burying her head in her arms on top of his desk.
The President of the United States was for once in his life speechless. He felt as though someone had hit him on the chest with something heavy and sharp, and he couldn't form the words he was trying to say for the pain in his chest. Rubbing a hand over his face he stared at his daughter as he processed what she had said. Could it be true? Was Millie right? What she had said sure added up to the same thing Millie was trying to drive home earlier. The only question was now.what the hell could he do about it? All this time he had been blaming her, angry that she chose to stay away from him, when the actual truth was that, yes, she was actually scared of him. She was scared of his title, of his position; he intimidated her, like so many others that came through that door every day. He could see it when they stepped into the office. The nervous handshake and the beads of sweat, the timid voice and stuttering and the way he had to convince them that he was actually human before any real work could be done. He never in the world thought that the person he would need to convince of his humanity would be his own daughter. Taking a few steps towards his desk he paused, his mind consumed with broken sentences and half formed sentiments, trying desperately to find the right thing to say to the young woman sobbing all over Toby's speech.
" Ellie.?" he whispered, discouraged when she didn't budge.
Rubbing his hands together he backed away from the desk and made his way quietly towards the door. Sticking his head out he motioned for Charlie to come over and whispered in his ear. Charlie backed off with a frown plastered across his face but upon seeing no comical expression or hint that he was joking he simply nodded his head and went to his desk, picking up the phone and motioning for Mrs Langdinham to come over too.
Clicking the office door shut he turned to see Ellie staring at him from behind the desk, her face swollen and red from crying and her posture sad and defeated. It almost broke his heart. He walked over to the far end of his office and stood before one of the bookcases, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
" You know what I was just thinking?" he started, earning her attention and keeping it.
" I was thinking about the time you and I spent the day at the circus when you were about 12 years old. Your mom had taken your sisters to your grandmothers for the day, you didn't want to go and there was no question that I didn't want to go so I went out and bought the tickets. You were so excited too. We got cotton candy, rode the big wheel, got hot dogs and soda, all the things your mom would have never allowed. You won a huge teddy bear at the stalls, which I had to carry around cause you said it wasn't cool. You remember that?"
He watched nervously for any sign that she was concentrating on the conversation. He could have jumped in the air with joy when she smiled softly in recollection and nodded her head slightly. He smiled too and began walking very slowly towards the desk, taking his suit jacket and tie off as he went.
" Remember too the barbeque? At the farm? It was after your sister's graduation, and we had a big crowd gathered round, beer, chilli, banners and a band. You fell off the big oak and scratched your leg, and I was too busy being the governor to notice. Leo picked you up and carried you inside the house so that mom could patch you up. Leo came out and told me and I ran into the house to see if you were ok. You were sitting on the kitchen counter with a big white bandage on your leg and a scowl that could match your mothers on your face, aimed at me. I tried to talk to you and tell you I was sorry it wasn't me that picked you up but you shouted at me and cried and I didn't know what to do. So I left you alone. I walked out of the house and back to the party to finish up the conversation that could have gotten me some more support."
He paused, looking sad, sorry and not at all presidential. He let a rueful smile pass his features.
" I guess things haven't changed a whole lot since then have they?"
Ellie was silent and expressionless for a moment; studying her father from the position he usually studied others from. After what seemed like an eternal silent attempt at communication she let a small smile of her own appear on her lips. Her voice was croaky when she spoke.
" Yeah they have dad. I don't climb big ole oaks anymore."
Jed took a deep breath and smiled warmly at his daughter. Leo was right, they were both stubborn and that was probably he closest he would get to an absolution. She looked so small sitting behind the big desk; it was hard to not picture her being 12 years old again. But she wasn't. She was an intelligent, beautiful, sometimes stubborn, wonderful young woman, and he couldn't have been any prouder as a father than he was in that moment.
Waltzing over to the desk he sat in one of chairs usually reserved for parties or individuals who were visiting the president. It felt funny to be on this side of the desk. Ellie must have noticed his discomfort.
" Not a very nice feeling is it?" she said with a smile
Jed released a rich laugh and smiled warmly at his daughter who was suddenly sitting a little straighter and looking at the documents on his desk.
" What did my chief of staff say that somehow convinced you to enter the lions den once more?"
Ellie's attention snapped from the papers on his desk to her father, who was leaning back comfortably on the chair.
" Well he said that we were both too alike. And he also said that if we didn't sort this out he was personally gonna knock our heads together."
" Sounds like Leo to me"
Ellie nodded and smiled with her father before returning her attention to the piles of paper sorted out in front of her.
" You know that the papers you are reading are confidential, and for the presidents eyes only don't you?"
Ellie quickly looked away and began stuttering about not really reading anything when the smile that spread across his face stopped her short, causing an angry frown to take it's place.
" Hey Mister that's not funny. I thought you were serious there for a minute!"
" Yeah I know, but it was worth the look on your face."
Before she could say anything further on the matter he plunged in with his next question.
" Want to spend the rest of the day with me?"
Ellie's frown deepened for a moment, before her face twisted in confusion and perhaps a little hope.
" You don't have to work?" she asked timidly
" Well, I'll probably need about half an hour to calm Leo and Toby down but after that I'm all yours if you'll have me. I cleared my schedule for the rest of the day. I thought maybe we could, you know, just hang out for a little while."
Ellie's face cracked into a huge smile as she stood and held her hand across the desk in a professional manner.
" I think you have yourself a deal Mr President."
Jed stood and grasped her hand firmly, shaking it as he spoke.
" Good. Wanna come watch me make Leo mad?" he smiled evilly
She let out a girlish laugh and came out from behind the desk to the warm embrace of her father.
" Sure dad."
Hand in hand they made their way towards the chief of staff's office, each with their private message of thanks to convey.