Title: Robbed: 4/?
Author: McWillow22 (aka, little-starling)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters portrayed hereon in do not belong to me, nor
did they come from my imagination. They belong to a bunch of people who
have a lot more money than I do. So please don't sue.
Pairing: Jed/Leo friendship
Spoilers: None
Feedback: Yes please!
Summary: A traumatic event has more of an impact on Leo than first
thought.
A/n: Another short chapter I'm afraid, but rest assured there will be more
to follow. I'll try not to leave it so long between chapters too.
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Leo had loved his daughter from the minute she had entered the world. He had loved her on her first day at school, he had loved her the day she learned how to ride her first bike, he had loved her the day he stood and watched her graduate with honours, he had even loved her when she stood an angry and confused sixteen year old as he balled her out for staying out to an ungodly hour. But now, as she stood in front of him, her hands on her hips, her eyes boring into his own with more than a frightening resemblance to her mother..he wasn't so sure that love would be enough to stop himself from throttling her where she stood. This argument had been going on for the past forty-five minutes and he was more than ready for it to come to an end.
" I'm wasting my time here aren't I?"
" You know Mal, if you had come to this conclusion, I don't know, like half an hour ago? We would both be doing things that actually matter right about now.."
" Seriously dad."
" No mal, serious is what's going to happen if you don't drop the subject"
" This is important, whether you want to admit to it or not!"
" A lot of things are important to me Mal! My job is important to me. My family are important to me. My sobriety is important to me. What isn't important to me is what that doctor yapped about today. I don't want to hear anymore about it ok?"
Mallory couldn't help but notice that his family, which included her, came after his job in his list of what was important to him. It only added to the mood she had slid into since leaving the hospital.
" Fine. Fine! You know what? I'm done trying to help you dad. I have come to the somewhat belated conclusion that I can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves. You would think I would know that especially applied to you. More fool me for trying in the first place. Your just a cranky, stubborn old man who thinks."
" That's enough"
Leo's tone had dropped from the slightly raised aggravated hostile tone he used on a daily basis to a shade above a whisper. Looking up slightly from his place on the chair he watched his only daughter glare defiantly a beat or two longer before her gaze dropped to study the expensive carpet at her feet. He drew a calming breath.
" I appreciate your concern Mallory and I understand it. But don't disrespect me by believing me stupid enough not to have thought out the various implications the doctors suggestion could cause. I'm already there Mallory; I'm three pages ahead of you. As with the three thousand other daily decisions I have to make I'll take some time to think over it, weigh the pros and cons and finally make a decision. In the meantime I need my daughter to show a little more respect, and a little less sass. Understood?"
Mallory didn't lift her eyes from the carpet for two reasons. One, she didn't want her dad to see the blush tinting her cheeks, and two, she didn't want to see the disappointed, angry glare she knew she would find.and deserved, she admitted. Those last comments had been low.
" Yes sir"
A sharp knock broke the uncomfortable silence that had settled across the room, and drew both sets of eyes to the opening door.
" Am I interrupting?"
Leo waved for the President to enter, which in itself was strange he thought considering it was the mans own living room they were sitting/standing in.
" Of course not sir. Did you need me?"
Jed smiled a little at the hope in his friend's voice.
" I actually just popped up to see how you got on at the hospital. So? Did he behave himself Mal?"
" Good as gold", she muttered, her eyes still studying the pile of the carpet.
" Mallory.." the warning in Leo's tone didn't go unnoticed by either Mallory or Jed.
Mallory knew what her father was indicating and with a sigh, raised her eyes to address the president. She found him gazing at her with curiosity and a little worry in his eyes. Mallory cleared her throat and stood a little straighter before speaking again, more for her fathers benefit than the Presidents.
" He was fine Mr President"
Jed nodded is head in acknowledgement, but continued to glance between the two, the feeling that he had obviously interrupted something becoming more and more apparent. Mallory held a look on her face that he had seen many times on his own daughters, and in fact on Mallory herself in the past. He himself had actually been responsible for that look a few times. And when Leo, in true form, growled her name between his teeth for what he seen as her lack of respect for the president, well, he didn't need to be Sherlock Holmes to put two and two together.
" I have some reports to do for my class tomorrow, so I'll leave you two to talk."
She eventually looked up and caught her father's eyes, waiting for permission to leave. A nod of the head. She looked over to her godfather next, knowing that all protocol in the presence of the president were particularly important at this moment in time, only not to her and the president. She smirked a little when he looked at her blankly for a few seconds before he too nodded and shook his head at the same time, signalling his own thoughts on their behaviour. Making her way over to the door, she stopped before she opened it, glancing back to the men in the room. She had almost forgotten.
"Dad?"
Both men turned at the title. Leo leaned forward slightly in his chair and met his daughter's eyes. He watched the timid smile form on her lips and returned it.
" I forgot to say sorry"
Leo's smile grew a little wider, but before he had the chance to say anything further she had slipped out the door and closed it with a resounding click.
Jed Bartlet rounded Leo's chair and sat himself in the one facing it, his eyes studying his old friend.
"What was that about?"
Leo sighed as he spoke.
" You know Mallory, she gets passionate about her arguments and as a result sometimes lets her mouth get the better of her."
Jed nodded in understanding, his lips turning up slightly as he spoke.
" Probably a reason why she gets on so well with Josh"
That drew a chuckle from both men.
" I'm not no sure it isn't something she learned from Josh in the first place"
" It wouldn't be outside the realms of possibility"
" Well I'm just glad for both our sakes she didn't follow in her fathers footsteps. I don't think I could handle a female Josh in the political arena"
" What happened at the hospital Leo?"
The switch in conversation threw Leo for a second before he collected himself and answered smoothly.
" I wont get the test results for a few days. Everything else checked out ok."
" Really?"
" Yes sir"
" So what was Mallory so passionate about then?"
Leo faltered slightly, his eyes momentarily falling to look over the Presidents shoulder before he collected himself again. It was too late.
" You know what you did right there Leo? You just guaranteed yourself a long and probably painful conversation"
Leo knew that tone of voice. It was the one he used when he knew he was right about something and he was happy with himself for finding out in the first place. But his jovial tone of voice couldn't cover the serious glint in his eyes.
" Mr President, with all due respect it's been a hell of a long day. I've been examined by fourteen different doctors, I've been scanned and x-rayed, I've been poked and prodded, and I've had to help my daughter with an attitude readjustment, so if it's alright with you, I'd rather lay down a while, and talk about this later on."
Jed Bartlet knew an excuse when he heard one. Especially from the man sitting across from him, and although he could sense Leo's hesitation in talking about whatever it was that had happened, he could also hear and see the exhaustion.
" Of course. I'll help you get settled in."
Leo looked at him for a few beats, his eyes tight. That almost seemed too easy. The next words to leave his friends mouth made him forget his doubts all together.
" If your feeling any better tomorrow, and please note the 'if' in that sentence Leo, I think Josh would like your input on some issues that's arisen in the past few days. Nothing spectacular, just a few domestic problems that Josh feels you should have a say in."
Jed Bartlet had seen his friend in many states. He had seen him joyful, the day his daughter entered the world, he had seen him proud, the day he himself had been sworn in, he had seen him panicked, the night of the shooting, and he had seen him at his worst, the night he had to bodily drag him from the parking lot to his car. But he had never seen the look he wore on his face at the moment. It looked almost like relief, his eyes were bright, his face relaxed, and his posture slightly slumped, as though he had been holding himself rigid for a very long time and had finally gotten the news to release the tension in his body. It was really something to watch.
Leo clamped down hard on the rising emotions he felt. He had never been an emotional kind of guy, and was kind of glad of it in a way. He had gladly lived long enough to exclude him from the 'get in touch with your feminine side' decade, by the nineties he was too set in his ways to change. But he was glad. It wasn't that he was homophobic in any way. He didn't automatically link male displays of emotion with homosexuality. It was just not his style, and he didn't judge or think any less of those men who had embraced the nineties. So he was left wondering why, now, and especially in present company, did he feel, strongly feel, a tide of emotion? If no one had been in the room he knew he would have probably given in to the strong urge to cry. Him. Leo McGarry. Cry like a baby? In the words of Lord Marbury he thought 'Not bloody likely'. Instead he dropped his eyes from his friend's curious stare and studied his hands. He was pleased, more than pleased that he was being allowed to work again, if only the occasional meeting, but he hadn't realised just how badly he needed it. Moving his hands to the arms of the chair he was sitting in, he pushed hard, clamping on his bottom lip to stop the grunt of pain, until he was standing, somewhat hunched, in front of his friend. He looked down at the president, his face unreadable, and held out his hand.
Jed Bartlet looked worried, surprised and confused as he eventually stood. Slowly he raised his hand and slid it into his friends, his grip strong and sure. He looked from their joined hands to Leo's face.
" Leo?"
Leo held his friends gaze a few beats longer, before he drew both his eyes and his hand away, clearing his throat as he did do.
" I'm tired. Just gonna go lay down."
Jed watched his friend shuffle to the main doors, his body obviously stiff and sore. When he closed the door behind him, Jed sank once more into the chair he had risen from and frowned. Something was going on, he knew, and with a lurch from the chair and quick strides to the door, he knew just how to find out.
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Leo had loved his daughter from the minute she had entered the world. He had loved her on her first day at school, he had loved her the day she learned how to ride her first bike, he had loved her the day he stood and watched her graduate with honours, he had even loved her when she stood an angry and confused sixteen year old as he balled her out for staying out to an ungodly hour. But now, as she stood in front of him, her hands on her hips, her eyes boring into his own with more than a frightening resemblance to her mother..he wasn't so sure that love would be enough to stop himself from throttling her where she stood. This argument had been going on for the past forty-five minutes and he was more than ready for it to come to an end.
" I'm wasting my time here aren't I?"
" You know Mal, if you had come to this conclusion, I don't know, like half an hour ago? We would both be doing things that actually matter right about now.."
" Seriously dad."
" No mal, serious is what's going to happen if you don't drop the subject"
" This is important, whether you want to admit to it or not!"
" A lot of things are important to me Mal! My job is important to me. My family are important to me. My sobriety is important to me. What isn't important to me is what that doctor yapped about today. I don't want to hear anymore about it ok?"
Mallory couldn't help but notice that his family, which included her, came after his job in his list of what was important to him. It only added to the mood she had slid into since leaving the hospital.
" Fine. Fine! You know what? I'm done trying to help you dad. I have come to the somewhat belated conclusion that I can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves. You would think I would know that especially applied to you. More fool me for trying in the first place. Your just a cranky, stubborn old man who thinks."
" That's enough"
Leo's tone had dropped from the slightly raised aggravated hostile tone he used on a daily basis to a shade above a whisper. Looking up slightly from his place on the chair he watched his only daughter glare defiantly a beat or two longer before her gaze dropped to study the expensive carpet at her feet. He drew a calming breath.
" I appreciate your concern Mallory and I understand it. But don't disrespect me by believing me stupid enough not to have thought out the various implications the doctors suggestion could cause. I'm already there Mallory; I'm three pages ahead of you. As with the three thousand other daily decisions I have to make I'll take some time to think over it, weigh the pros and cons and finally make a decision. In the meantime I need my daughter to show a little more respect, and a little less sass. Understood?"
Mallory didn't lift her eyes from the carpet for two reasons. One, she didn't want her dad to see the blush tinting her cheeks, and two, she didn't want to see the disappointed, angry glare she knew she would find.and deserved, she admitted. Those last comments had been low.
" Yes sir"
A sharp knock broke the uncomfortable silence that had settled across the room, and drew both sets of eyes to the opening door.
" Am I interrupting?"
Leo waved for the President to enter, which in itself was strange he thought considering it was the mans own living room they were sitting/standing in.
" Of course not sir. Did you need me?"
Jed smiled a little at the hope in his friend's voice.
" I actually just popped up to see how you got on at the hospital. So? Did he behave himself Mal?"
" Good as gold", she muttered, her eyes still studying the pile of the carpet.
" Mallory.." the warning in Leo's tone didn't go unnoticed by either Mallory or Jed.
Mallory knew what her father was indicating and with a sigh, raised her eyes to address the president. She found him gazing at her with curiosity and a little worry in his eyes. Mallory cleared her throat and stood a little straighter before speaking again, more for her fathers benefit than the Presidents.
" He was fine Mr President"
Jed nodded is head in acknowledgement, but continued to glance between the two, the feeling that he had obviously interrupted something becoming more and more apparent. Mallory held a look on her face that he had seen many times on his own daughters, and in fact on Mallory herself in the past. He himself had actually been responsible for that look a few times. And when Leo, in true form, growled her name between his teeth for what he seen as her lack of respect for the president, well, he didn't need to be Sherlock Holmes to put two and two together.
" I have some reports to do for my class tomorrow, so I'll leave you two to talk."
She eventually looked up and caught her father's eyes, waiting for permission to leave. A nod of the head. She looked over to her godfather next, knowing that all protocol in the presence of the president were particularly important at this moment in time, only not to her and the president. She smirked a little when he looked at her blankly for a few seconds before he too nodded and shook his head at the same time, signalling his own thoughts on their behaviour. Making her way over to the door, she stopped before she opened it, glancing back to the men in the room. She had almost forgotten.
"Dad?"
Both men turned at the title. Leo leaned forward slightly in his chair and met his daughter's eyes. He watched the timid smile form on her lips and returned it.
" I forgot to say sorry"
Leo's smile grew a little wider, but before he had the chance to say anything further she had slipped out the door and closed it with a resounding click.
Jed Bartlet rounded Leo's chair and sat himself in the one facing it, his eyes studying his old friend.
"What was that about?"
Leo sighed as he spoke.
" You know Mallory, she gets passionate about her arguments and as a result sometimes lets her mouth get the better of her."
Jed nodded in understanding, his lips turning up slightly as he spoke.
" Probably a reason why she gets on so well with Josh"
That drew a chuckle from both men.
" I'm not no sure it isn't something she learned from Josh in the first place"
" It wouldn't be outside the realms of possibility"
" Well I'm just glad for both our sakes she didn't follow in her fathers footsteps. I don't think I could handle a female Josh in the political arena"
" What happened at the hospital Leo?"
The switch in conversation threw Leo for a second before he collected himself and answered smoothly.
" I wont get the test results for a few days. Everything else checked out ok."
" Really?"
" Yes sir"
" So what was Mallory so passionate about then?"
Leo faltered slightly, his eyes momentarily falling to look over the Presidents shoulder before he collected himself again. It was too late.
" You know what you did right there Leo? You just guaranteed yourself a long and probably painful conversation"
Leo knew that tone of voice. It was the one he used when he knew he was right about something and he was happy with himself for finding out in the first place. But his jovial tone of voice couldn't cover the serious glint in his eyes.
" Mr President, with all due respect it's been a hell of a long day. I've been examined by fourteen different doctors, I've been scanned and x-rayed, I've been poked and prodded, and I've had to help my daughter with an attitude readjustment, so if it's alright with you, I'd rather lay down a while, and talk about this later on."
Jed Bartlet knew an excuse when he heard one. Especially from the man sitting across from him, and although he could sense Leo's hesitation in talking about whatever it was that had happened, he could also hear and see the exhaustion.
" Of course. I'll help you get settled in."
Leo looked at him for a few beats, his eyes tight. That almost seemed too easy. The next words to leave his friends mouth made him forget his doubts all together.
" If your feeling any better tomorrow, and please note the 'if' in that sentence Leo, I think Josh would like your input on some issues that's arisen in the past few days. Nothing spectacular, just a few domestic problems that Josh feels you should have a say in."
Jed Bartlet had seen his friend in many states. He had seen him joyful, the day his daughter entered the world, he had seen him proud, the day he himself had been sworn in, he had seen him panicked, the night of the shooting, and he had seen him at his worst, the night he had to bodily drag him from the parking lot to his car. But he had never seen the look he wore on his face at the moment. It looked almost like relief, his eyes were bright, his face relaxed, and his posture slightly slumped, as though he had been holding himself rigid for a very long time and had finally gotten the news to release the tension in his body. It was really something to watch.
Leo clamped down hard on the rising emotions he felt. He had never been an emotional kind of guy, and was kind of glad of it in a way. He had gladly lived long enough to exclude him from the 'get in touch with your feminine side' decade, by the nineties he was too set in his ways to change. But he was glad. It wasn't that he was homophobic in any way. He didn't automatically link male displays of emotion with homosexuality. It was just not his style, and he didn't judge or think any less of those men who had embraced the nineties. So he was left wondering why, now, and especially in present company, did he feel, strongly feel, a tide of emotion? If no one had been in the room he knew he would have probably given in to the strong urge to cry. Him. Leo McGarry. Cry like a baby? In the words of Lord Marbury he thought 'Not bloody likely'. Instead he dropped his eyes from his friend's curious stare and studied his hands. He was pleased, more than pleased that he was being allowed to work again, if only the occasional meeting, but he hadn't realised just how badly he needed it. Moving his hands to the arms of the chair he was sitting in, he pushed hard, clamping on his bottom lip to stop the grunt of pain, until he was standing, somewhat hunched, in front of his friend. He looked down at the president, his face unreadable, and held out his hand.
Jed Bartlet looked worried, surprised and confused as he eventually stood. Slowly he raised his hand and slid it into his friends, his grip strong and sure. He looked from their joined hands to Leo's face.
" Leo?"
Leo held his friends gaze a few beats longer, before he drew both his eyes and his hand away, clearing his throat as he did do.
" I'm tired. Just gonna go lay down."
Jed watched his friend shuffle to the main doors, his body obviously stiff and sore. When he closed the door behind him, Jed sank once more into the chair he had risen from and frowned. Something was going on, he knew, and with a lurch from the chair and quick strides to the door, he knew just how to find out.
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