"Honey, what are you doing?"

Abbey could have sworn she saw a bit of schoolboy guilt cross Leo's face. She'd only left for a half hour. In that time, he'd obviously got up, found a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. Pulling on a pair of socks, he looked away from her and then met her gaze again. God forbid, they ever had to go through something like this again, she'd have to remember to hide his clothes.

"I'm not gonna break, Abbey," he attempted to reassure her. "Fever's been gone two days... Library opening's in three days… I gotta…"

Abbey shook her head. Where had she heard all of this before? In some ways, Jed and Leo were exactly alike. They had to be convinced they were mere mortals. "You're not going to do anyone any good if you move too fast…"

But, Leo cut her off, taking her hand. "I know. I promise to take it slow. But, I gotta get up. There's a lot to do…"

"And, you think Josh and Donna aren't capable of handling everything?"

"Well, they are, but…"

"You're worried about Josh."

"It wasn't exactly a picnic for him. He should be taking some time away…"

"And, what would he do, honey? Here, he's with us, he's with Donna, and he's got a project to focus on. I'm keeping an eye on him, and he's talking with Stanley each night."

"I know, but…"

"He's not under your watchful eye?"

"Well, you don't have to put it that way," he teased her.

Leo finished putting on his socks, got up, and swayed briefly. He deftly grabbed the back of a chair to cover for his momentary weakness, but Abbey caught it. She moved to his side and took his arm. .

"Okay, I'll cut you a deal, McGarry. I'll bring you your boots, your cell phone and even get you to the downstairs office, as long as you don't faceplant on the desk. But, I'm going to hold you tight until we get there..."

Abbey was favored with a gentle relenting smile.

"You can hold me tight afterward too," Leo sighed, playfully kissing her on the cheek, a twinkle in his eye.

He did have a way of melting her when he looked at her that way.

Abbey moved into his arms and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "I could do that," she chuckled, wondering just how long Leo would be able to stay upright this morning.

Leo might surprise her, though. And, if he had some energy, it wasn't bad for him to move. He'd insist on going to the Library opening in a few days. And, there was no way Leo was heading there in a wheelchair. First of all, there would be too many questions from the press. Second of all, Leo would want the focus of the event to be on paying tribute to President Josiah Bartlet. His former chief of staff inexplicably showing up in a wheelchair would be a distraction.

As he molded his body around hers, Abbey heard him whisper something.

"What is it, honey?"

He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. There was something else there that hadn't been present only a moment ago. The playfulness was gone and a pensiveness had replaced it. He searched her face. Abbey had seen this look before.

"Y'know, it's been a rough few weeks for you too," Leo began quietly. "I… um… I'm so sorry, Abbey…"

"Oh, Leo," Abbey pulled him close. If only her arms wrapped around his shoulders could fully reassure him to the depths of his soul that they had made this decision together. She had been with him all the way. She wouldn't harbor blame or resentment because of something he couldn't control. But, Leo had the rug pulled out from underneath him before… years before, with someone else he thought was in it forever with him. He just needed to ground himself with Abbey again.

"I just… I love you … I love you so much," he finished softly, almost to himself.

She reached out her hand to cup his cheek. There was an emotional rawness to Leo this morning. There was no doubt Leo McGarry felt very deep emotion, but he was a master at managing its outward expression. He saw it as taking care of those around him. However, this morning, it was almost as though along with his strength, a growing realization was emerging. Only, he was still too washed-out for his usual reserve to be fully in place.

Abbey thought it best to lighten the moment. "Well, I hope so. Because I'm not letting you go anywhere without me, okay?"

Leo seemed to consider this briefly before greater certainty emerged.

"Yes ma'am"

He took the proffered boots and quietly pulled them on while Abbey continued to regard him.

Leo would have to come a long way by the end of the week to tolerate an evening of grip and grinning at the library. Liz, Doug, Ellie, Vic, Charlie and Zoe would all need to be on point, filling in so if he needed to take frequent breaks, it wouldn't be quite as noticeable.

As they made their way downstairs and into the office, Josh looked up with surprise.

"Hey, Boss!" The young man had clearly set up a satellite command center in the downstairs office.

Abbey guided Leo over to an overstuffed couch, bypassing the desk. Making it downstairs to the office couch would be a big enough accomplishment for the day.

"Hey Kid, you have my cell?"

Josh gave Abbey a dubious look. They both knew Leo's phone had blown up with voice mails and calls over the past month. Josh worked his way through some of them. But, it might be overwhelming for the still convalescing former chief of staff. There was one call, in particular, waiting for Leo that would be very unwelcome.

Abbey sat down on the couch and slipped under Leo's legs, as he started to look through the call log. When he paused, she was sure he'd landed on the call of concern.

Leo stared at his phone, "I need to call him back."

"I can call him, Leo," Josh offered soberly.

Leo clearly didn't want the younger man jumping into a conversation with the President of the United States. The events of the past few weeks were too fresh. Abbey wasn't sure Josh and Donna had even given his resignation yet. Likely, the administration was only aware of a leave of absence. Russell would likely not only push for Josh's status, but he would also advocate for his team's leadership of the library work as well. The man's paranoia with regard to the Bartlet legacy knew no bounds. Leo and Abbey had no plans to cast Russell, or anyone else, in a poor light. He wasn't part of Jed's legacy.

"I've got it," the older man said protectively, motioning that Josh should leave the room. Abbey gave him a questioning look. But, Leo indicated it was her decision whether she wanted to stay for the conversation. In the end, Abbey chose to stay and almost wished she hadn't. She'd watched Leo grow more run-down and frustrated by the minute, speaking to an overly suspicious commander-in-chief. Leo would be deferential out of respect for the office. But, not if it threatened Jed's memory or his family.

Finally, fifteen minutes later, Leo ran a hand across his brow and appeared to interrupt a litany of imagined concerns coming out of the phone.

"Mister President, we appreciate your offer of administrative support, but we've got things handled here. The focus is only on President Barlet and there's no mention of any other administration, including yours. At this stage, it's a tight timeline, and we're using people already familiar with the project, who knew him well… No, Sir, do not send anyone... " Then, more forcefully, "I'm serious, Sir, don't send anyone. We'll send 'em back… Listen, Sir, Abbey needs me - I need to go now... Thank you, Sir."

Leo hung up and shook his head.

"Well, now," Abbey smiled sympathetically. "I'm not sure I've ever heard you tell someone 'No' that many times… that many ways…"

He rolled his eyes ruefully. "There were some perks to being a sitting chief of staff. Fewer words."

"Is he coming?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me, Leo. After all that, Russell didn't say if he is coming on Friday?"

"God, I don't wanna call him back," Leo sighed, leaning his head back against the couch, closing his eyes.

Abbey chuckled, "Well, I guess we'll be surprised."

Leo looked up at her through half-closed eyes, his voice sounding groggy. "Yeah, let's hope not. Without some advance, he'll tie up the streets of Manchester with his motorcade... Secret Service doing sweeps of the library right before the event... It'll be chaos."

"Well, it's not the first time we've dealt with that chaos, Leo."

He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it as he settled into the couch. "Yeah, but it's not good chaos anymore... It's not all for Jed… to keep him safe… let him speak…" Leo's eyes were closing, and he was mumbling as he was drifting off. "God, I used to love to hear him speak… I loved him so much..."

Abbey brushed some stray hairs from his forehead.

"I know you did, Leo… Me too… "

Taking the cell phone from Leo's other hand, Abbey snuggled down next to him on the couch.