Title: Robbed (thanks for the suggestions everyone) 2/?
Author: McWillow22 aka little-starling
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None, completely AU
Pairing: Jed/Leo friendship
Summary: A traumatic event has more of an impact on Leo than first thought
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters portrayed heron in; they
belong to more intelligent, vastly richer people than me. I'm just
borrowing them for a little while and mean no harm. I don't make a shiny
penny.
A/n: First let me say a huge thanks for the encouragement in continuing
this one. It does my heart good to read such kind reviews. This is just a
short chapter but rest assured I'm working on part three with all due
haste. Hopefully it'll be up soon.
Two Weeks, Two Days Later.
The ward was quiet. Apart from a few shuffling patients making their way to or fro their beds, the chatter from the nurses station and the occasional tanoid announcement it seemed to be a reasonably relaxed afternoon. Leo closed his room door with a heart felt sigh and made his way back to the green upholstered high backed armchair that sat to the side of his freshly changed bed. Of course boring was another word for it Leo mused, and after two weeks of forced relaxation he was more than ready to leave. Picking up the top newspaper from a pile that sat to the side of the chair, Leo eased himself a little stiffly into the cushioned seat, groaning as a now familiar but lessened throb settled around his mid section. Giving himself a few moments to recover, he then slid his glasses on and shuffled the paper till he could comfortably read.
"Where did you got those?"
Leo let the paper fall to his lap and scowled in the direction of one angry looking Margaret.
"Don't you knock?"
Margaret, completely ignoring him, deposited the few items she had in her arms on a nearby tabletop and strode to stand in front of Leo.
"We discussed the rules. Many times. You know what happens when you read the newspapers Leo.."
"Margaret stop speaking to me like I'm a."
".You get yourself in a tizzy about something you can't fix from here, your blood pressure goes up."
"..Damn child! I always read the papers Margaret, and a tizzy? What the hell.."
"Do I have to remind you of the attempted escape?"
Leo's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. His position on the chair meant he had to look up at Margaret, and somehow, he decided, she looked more formidable, standing with her hands on her hips, her lips pursed and one sculpted eyebrow raised.
Letting out the breath he had been holding in an exaggerated puff, he whipped the glasses from his eyes angrily and threw the newspaper on his lap to the side.
" I wasn't trying to escape, don't exaggerate Margaret I was simply looking for a phone to call Josh."
Margaret refused to comment at all, choosing instead to return to the items she had deposited when she came in. Leo watched, his face showing his unrest, as Margaret walked from one part of the room to the other, picking and leaving objects as she went. It never ceased to amaze him how she could make the most mundane of tasks seem important. He reckoned as he watched her replace the box of tissues at the side of the bed with another that it was her efficient nature. His thoughts were interrupted by the level tone of her voice.
" The President will be here in about four minutes"
Leo rolled his eyes and waved his hands as he spoke.
" You tell me this now? Why the hell didn't you tell me ten minutes ago? Owww!" Leo brought a hand up to cover his jaw, the heat of his palm easing the throb somewhat.
Margaret looked up from were she was marking Leo's choice for dinner the following day, her face a blank mask.
" You didn't ask me."
" He shouldn't be coming at all, I told you to tell him."
" You told me to get in the Presidents face Leo. I don't get in the Presidents face. In fact apart from Abby and you, I don't think anyone gets in the Presidents face. Well there was that one time."
" Margaret!"
" He's feeling a sense of guilt for having not been here the past few days and."
" There was a bombing in Egypt!"
" See? This is why you shouldn't read the newspapers, your blood pressure is up"
" Get me a damn phone, I'm calling him."
" No phones either Leo.."
Leo gritted his teeth and silently counted to ten. He had only gotten to four when the door opened and several secret service agents entered the room, scanning the reasonably sized area, nodding their heads in Leo's direction as all but one filed out again. Leo rubbed a hand across his face and prayed to anyone who was listening for his sins. He figured he had obviously done something terribly wrong in his life to deserve this treatment.
" Hey Margaret is he behaving himself? Anymore escape attempts?"
The President strode in with a lopsided grin on his face, his voice loud and cheerful in the quiet of the room.
" I was looking for a phone!" Leo barked from his chair
The President looked from Margaret's face to Leo's and back, his eyes twinkling.
" Well, at least he's chipper Margaret, it could be a world worse, he could be in a bad mood."
"Yes Sir" Margaret smiled, before nodding her head and muttering that she would wait outside.
When the door clicked closed, the President turned and settled his eyes on the man in the chair. When Leo spoke his voice was gruff and low.
" You shouldn't be here sir, there are more important issues at ha."
" Well, the way your carrying on there won't be many people but me coming to visit you pretty soon, so you better start playing nice." Jed put on his best mock serious frown and let his eyes bore into Leo's, driving his point home.
Leo sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. The last thing he needed at the moment was a lecture from the President of The United States, so he just nodded his head slightly and dropped his gaze to his lap. He conceded the point though, he HAD been snapping at nearly all of his visitors the past few days, but it was just so damn frustrating being room bound and he didn't have anyone else to take out his frustration on apart from those who dared enter the lions den.
" Yeah" he muttered under his breath, a gravely but honest confession, well as near as Jed would get to a confession anyway.
Leo gritted his teeth and shimmied to the edge of the seat, before taking a deep breath and slowly standing up. He felt the iron grip on each arm and was thankful for it.
" Easy Leo, find your footing"
Leo reached out a hand and gripped Jed's shoulder firmly, his face contorted slightly as he struggled to straighten. When he eventually did, he kept his hand where it was and squeezed gently before letting it slip away.
" I need to stretch my legs or I get terrible cramps." Leo explained as he shuffled slowly away from the President.
" You want to walk around the ward? I've got things I need to tell you about and I can do it while we're walking"
Leo turned around so fast that he nearly lost his balance.
"What happened!?"
"Nothing happened Leo, it's just."
" Is it Josh? What did he do? Egypt?"
" How the hell do you know about Egypt?"
" Mr President!"
" Your not supposed to be reading newspapers Leo"
" Jed! I swear to god."
" Alright, alright! Sit down before you hurt yourself will you? Then I'll tell you."
Leo's face was firm and fiery as he made his way as quickly as he could to the edge of the bed. Once seated on the edge he looked up at the President expectantly.
Jed sighed and shook his head as he spoke.
" There is no national disaster Leo, nor has Josh done anything wrong. Well not that I know of anyway. I was going to tell you that I called today to check in and spoke to the consultant in charge. He, as well as nearly all of the senior staff and Mal, explained your 'restlessness' in the ward and updated me on your physical condition. To cut a long story short Leo, I have a proposition for you. You can leave the hospital."
Leo's face lit up like a Christmas bulb at the mention of leaving his prison.
"..If you agree to stay at the residence for the next three weeks, agree to an examination every day by the doctor on duty at the White House and, now this is important, you stay away from the office, from newspapers, from phones and from pagers. I mean it Leo, no kidding around, if I hear that you've been working while in the residence I'll drag your ass back here kicking and screaming if I have to. So what do you think? It's a one time offer by the way and not open to negotiation."
Leo's face had comically lost it's light in degrees, as each amendment was added. By the time the President had finished speaking he was back to his grumpy demeanour, sitting dejectedly with shoulders slumped. On one hand he could leave this room, this ward, this hospital, that in itself was all he wanted and more, but the thought of staying in the White House, so close to his office and his staff, well, he knew it would be excruciating.
" Take your time Leo, give it some serious thought"
Leo couldn't tell if Jed was being sarcastic or not but he already knew what his answer was and for that matter so did the President.
" You're having way too much fun for my liking sir"
Jed rocked back and forward on his heels, his hands in his pockets and a silly smile on his face.
" Just think Leo, it'll be like the sleepovers we used to have when we were kids!"
" Didn't we set fire to my mom's kitchen that last time?"
Jed lost some of his giddiness.
" Well obviously when I say 'it will be like' I don't mean.."
" Yeah, I'm remembering now, it was the time you were smoking."
" Your not gonna ruin this for me Leo, I have everything planned out"
" Ok, I'm just gonna stay in here.."
" Where's your faith in me Leo?"
" Some of it went when you crashed my $4000 bike into that tree."
" You know, staying in here might not be a bad idea after all."
" And were back to this again."
" Oh, by the way, while we're on the subject I should inform you that Josh kindly offered you his place, you know, opposed to going back to the hotel."
" So the residence huh? When do we leave?"
More soon..review?
Two Weeks, Two Days Later.
The ward was quiet. Apart from a few shuffling patients making their way to or fro their beds, the chatter from the nurses station and the occasional tanoid announcement it seemed to be a reasonably relaxed afternoon. Leo closed his room door with a heart felt sigh and made his way back to the green upholstered high backed armchair that sat to the side of his freshly changed bed. Of course boring was another word for it Leo mused, and after two weeks of forced relaxation he was more than ready to leave. Picking up the top newspaper from a pile that sat to the side of the chair, Leo eased himself a little stiffly into the cushioned seat, groaning as a now familiar but lessened throb settled around his mid section. Giving himself a few moments to recover, he then slid his glasses on and shuffled the paper till he could comfortably read.
"Where did you got those?"
Leo let the paper fall to his lap and scowled in the direction of one angry looking Margaret.
"Don't you knock?"
Margaret, completely ignoring him, deposited the few items she had in her arms on a nearby tabletop and strode to stand in front of Leo.
"We discussed the rules. Many times. You know what happens when you read the newspapers Leo.."
"Margaret stop speaking to me like I'm a."
".You get yourself in a tizzy about something you can't fix from here, your blood pressure goes up."
"..Damn child! I always read the papers Margaret, and a tizzy? What the hell.."
"Do I have to remind you of the attempted escape?"
Leo's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. His position on the chair meant he had to look up at Margaret, and somehow, he decided, she looked more formidable, standing with her hands on her hips, her lips pursed and one sculpted eyebrow raised.
Letting out the breath he had been holding in an exaggerated puff, he whipped the glasses from his eyes angrily and threw the newspaper on his lap to the side.
" I wasn't trying to escape, don't exaggerate Margaret I was simply looking for a phone to call Josh."
Margaret refused to comment at all, choosing instead to return to the items she had deposited when she came in. Leo watched, his face showing his unrest, as Margaret walked from one part of the room to the other, picking and leaving objects as she went. It never ceased to amaze him how she could make the most mundane of tasks seem important. He reckoned as he watched her replace the box of tissues at the side of the bed with another that it was her efficient nature. His thoughts were interrupted by the level tone of her voice.
" The President will be here in about four minutes"
Leo rolled his eyes and waved his hands as he spoke.
" You tell me this now? Why the hell didn't you tell me ten minutes ago? Owww!" Leo brought a hand up to cover his jaw, the heat of his palm easing the throb somewhat.
Margaret looked up from were she was marking Leo's choice for dinner the following day, her face a blank mask.
" You didn't ask me."
" He shouldn't be coming at all, I told you to tell him."
" You told me to get in the Presidents face Leo. I don't get in the Presidents face. In fact apart from Abby and you, I don't think anyone gets in the Presidents face. Well there was that one time."
" Margaret!"
" He's feeling a sense of guilt for having not been here the past few days and."
" There was a bombing in Egypt!"
" See? This is why you shouldn't read the newspapers, your blood pressure is up"
" Get me a damn phone, I'm calling him."
" No phones either Leo.."
Leo gritted his teeth and silently counted to ten. He had only gotten to four when the door opened and several secret service agents entered the room, scanning the reasonably sized area, nodding their heads in Leo's direction as all but one filed out again. Leo rubbed a hand across his face and prayed to anyone who was listening for his sins. He figured he had obviously done something terribly wrong in his life to deserve this treatment.
" Hey Margaret is he behaving himself? Anymore escape attempts?"
The President strode in with a lopsided grin on his face, his voice loud and cheerful in the quiet of the room.
" I was looking for a phone!" Leo barked from his chair
The President looked from Margaret's face to Leo's and back, his eyes twinkling.
" Well, at least he's chipper Margaret, it could be a world worse, he could be in a bad mood."
"Yes Sir" Margaret smiled, before nodding her head and muttering that she would wait outside.
When the door clicked closed, the President turned and settled his eyes on the man in the chair. When Leo spoke his voice was gruff and low.
" You shouldn't be here sir, there are more important issues at ha."
" Well, the way your carrying on there won't be many people but me coming to visit you pretty soon, so you better start playing nice." Jed put on his best mock serious frown and let his eyes bore into Leo's, driving his point home.
Leo sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. The last thing he needed at the moment was a lecture from the President of The United States, so he just nodded his head slightly and dropped his gaze to his lap. He conceded the point though, he HAD been snapping at nearly all of his visitors the past few days, but it was just so damn frustrating being room bound and he didn't have anyone else to take out his frustration on apart from those who dared enter the lions den.
" Yeah" he muttered under his breath, a gravely but honest confession, well as near as Jed would get to a confession anyway.
Leo gritted his teeth and shimmied to the edge of the seat, before taking a deep breath and slowly standing up. He felt the iron grip on each arm and was thankful for it.
" Easy Leo, find your footing"
Leo reached out a hand and gripped Jed's shoulder firmly, his face contorted slightly as he struggled to straighten. When he eventually did, he kept his hand where it was and squeezed gently before letting it slip away.
" I need to stretch my legs or I get terrible cramps." Leo explained as he shuffled slowly away from the President.
" You want to walk around the ward? I've got things I need to tell you about and I can do it while we're walking"
Leo turned around so fast that he nearly lost his balance.
"What happened!?"
"Nothing happened Leo, it's just."
" Is it Josh? What did he do? Egypt?"
" How the hell do you know about Egypt?"
" Mr President!"
" Your not supposed to be reading newspapers Leo"
" Jed! I swear to god."
" Alright, alright! Sit down before you hurt yourself will you? Then I'll tell you."
Leo's face was firm and fiery as he made his way as quickly as he could to the edge of the bed. Once seated on the edge he looked up at the President expectantly.
Jed sighed and shook his head as he spoke.
" There is no national disaster Leo, nor has Josh done anything wrong. Well not that I know of anyway. I was going to tell you that I called today to check in and spoke to the consultant in charge. He, as well as nearly all of the senior staff and Mal, explained your 'restlessness' in the ward and updated me on your physical condition. To cut a long story short Leo, I have a proposition for you. You can leave the hospital."
Leo's face lit up like a Christmas bulb at the mention of leaving his prison.
"..If you agree to stay at the residence for the next three weeks, agree to an examination every day by the doctor on duty at the White House and, now this is important, you stay away from the office, from newspapers, from phones and from pagers. I mean it Leo, no kidding around, if I hear that you've been working while in the residence I'll drag your ass back here kicking and screaming if I have to. So what do you think? It's a one time offer by the way and not open to negotiation."
Leo's face had comically lost it's light in degrees, as each amendment was added. By the time the President had finished speaking he was back to his grumpy demeanour, sitting dejectedly with shoulders slumped. On one hand he could leave this room, this ward, this hospital, that in itself was all he wanted and more, but the thought of staying in the White House, so close to his office and his staff, well, he knew it would be excruciating.
" Take your time Leo, give it some serious thought"
Leo couldn't tell if Jed was being sarcastic or not but he already knew what his answer was and for that matter so did the President.
" You're having way too much fun for my liking sir"
Jed rocked back and forward on his heels, his hands in his pockets and a silly smile on his face.
" Just think Leo, it'll be like the sleepovers we used to have when we were kids!"
" Didn't we set fire to my mom's kitchen that last time?"
Jed lost some of his giddiness.
" Well obviously when I say 'it will be like' I don't mean.."
" Yeah, I'm remembering now, it was the time you were smoking."
" Your not gonna ruin this for me Leo, I have everything planned out"
" Ok, I'm just gonna stay in here.."
" Where's your faith in me Leo?"
" Some of it went when you crashed my $4000 bike into that tree."
" You know, staying in here might not be a bad idea after all."
" And were back to this again."
" Oh, by the way, while we're on the subject I should inform you that Josh kindly offered you his place, you know, opposed to going back to the hotel."
" So the residence huh? When do we leave?"
More soon..review?