Pride and Joy- Part 4
Rating: Teen
A/N: Deals with the death of a child so beware. I've had lots of people add this to their favourite story list. I you like it, please send some feedback!
After a hectic week in the West Wing, both CJ and Leo were looking forward to the weekend. They told the girls at the bi-weekly family dinner night and the news was received with joy.
"We're gonna have a new baby!" Molly exclaimed when she heard the news. She was of an age that she had no feelings of jealously towards the newest member of her family.
"It really is great news, Daddy," Mallory added.
"Congratulations, Mom," Mary said to her soon-to-be stepmother. "You're going to be a great Mom."
Leo left about an hour later while Clue was still being played at the dinning room table. He had a meeting which he would much rather skip but was, unfortunately, needed. He got into the SUV and drove to Chevy Chase to a coffee shop not far from his old house.
As promised, Leo contacted Jenny the day before so they could talk about Mallory. He ordered a tea and found a quiet booth at the back and waited for his ex-wife.
The tall read-headed woman walked into the coffee shop right on time. She spied her ex-husband and walked over to his table. Leo stood up when she walked over.
"Hello Jen," he said as he motioned her to sit down. "Do you want anything?"
"No thank you," she said coolly as she sat down opposite him. "I assume this is to do with Mallory."
Leo sighed, "Jen, I know you're not happy about this but you need to stay off of Mallory. You're stressing her out and that's not good for her or for the baby. You've made her cry so much over this and frankly, I can't have that anymore."
"I don't want her to make the same mistake I did," she blurted out.
Suddenly, it all clicked for Leo. He understood why his ex-wife was acting as she was.
"Were you really so unhappy Jenny? For our entire marriage, you were unhappy?" he asked sadly. He knew he'd been a crappy husband at times but it broke his heart that the woman in front of him, the woman he loved for most of his adult life, didn't love him.
"I was so very happy at first, before you went to Vietnam. We were just married and had a baby on the way; everything was just so perfect. Then, I lost him and you came back so changed…" she said as tears started to form in her eyes.
"Him?" Jenny told him that she had a miscarriage, that she'd only been about 3 months or so when it happened.
"I was about 5 and a half months gone when I lost him. After it happened, they told me I was much farther along then I had thought. He was big enough to be classed as stillborn but not big enough to live," she explained as the tears rolled down her face.
"Oh Jenny," he said as he stood up and sat back down next to her. He pulled her into a hug.
"And then we had Mallory and I thought more would come after her and then you said no and it's not that I don't love Mallory but I wanted more, I wanted the chance to have my little boy back."
"I am so sorry Jen. I truly am."
"And now you have Mary and Molly and I can't help but hate their mother because if they would have been mine, I would have taken such good care of them because I wanted them so very much."
Leo held Jenny until she stopped shaking.
"What was his name?" he whispered.
"James- Andrew Thomas McGarry. He weighed 1 pound and he had little tuffs of blond hair. His eyes were closed but I thought they'd be like yours. His eyes were shaped like mine but he had your nose and your mouth. His hands were shaped like yours but his feet were like mine. They showed him to me; the nurses said it was better that way so I wouldn't imagine things. He's buried near my parents' old house."
"James- Andrew?" Leo asked again as tears formed in his own eyes.
"James for my father and Andrew for Andrew Jackson; I know you admired him. Thomas was for you and your father," she explained.
"It's a perfect name for him; it would have suited him. Jenny, CJ and I are getting married. I wanted you to hear that from me and not the papers," he said softly.
"I figured as much when she moved in; are you going to have more children?"
"She's pregnant now; I had the ring before I found out though."
"Thank you for telling me; I appreciate it. I have something for you of James- Andrew's. Can I drop it off tomorrow?"
"Please," he nodded. It still felt so strange that this baby he hadn't thought about in years suddenly had an identity. He mourned his loss in a hell-hole but now, the wound was laid open again.
"I promise to be kinder to Mallory; does Sam love her?"
"Disgustingly; I wouldn't let him in my house if he wasn't good for her."
"Alright. Good bye, Leo," she said as she stood up to leave.
"Bye."
Leo managed to keep it together until he got to his car. Once the door was closed the flood gates opened. He cried his heart out for 30 minutes. Once he was done he picked up his phone and dialled the memorized number.
"Hello?" the voice said.
"I want nothing more than to drink a whole bottle of Johnny Walker right now."
"Leo, are you ok?" Jed asked, worried beyond measure for his friend; Leo did not joke about his sobriety.
"No. Can I come over?"
"I'll tell the gate to expect you."