Title: Leo's Dilemma Part 3/9 Private Times 5 /?
By: chipmunk Daylight Series
Pairing: Leo/Margaret
Rating: R
Spoilers: None really
Plot Development By: Lynn lhjessome@yahoo.com
Beta and Mentor By: Lee pigletnpooh@comcast.net
Disclaimer:
The characters are from the NBC, WB, A John Wells Prod.,
TV show, 'The West Wing'.
They own them; therefore, they do not belong to me.
They are the creation and property of Aaron Sorkin.
I only borrowed them.
No copyright infringement is intended.
No monetary benefit is received or anticipated.
Please keep in mind, 'Imitation is the highest form of flattery'.
A 'grateful' and 'enormous' thanks, to the actors and actresses,
who portray the characters 'brilliantly'
and bring them to life in my head.
Any mistakes found in this fic,
are totally my own fault and ignorance.
This is a learning process for me.
Additions and Corrections are encouraged.
Feedback: I would love it hear your opinion! PLEASE!
It helps to improve my writing!
Archived at:
Summary: Leo is attacked. Margaret is a target.
Note: CURSE WARNING: Leo's hurting and not too careful with his words.
It gets a little warm in some sections.
****
From the phone in the sitting area of the master bedroom, where Leo has sat down outside the Presidents bathroom, Leo calls down to the kitchen to order them some dinner. He remembers to ask for more ice for his ice pack and ice water to take his meds with. Margaret's in the bathroom straighten up after Leo's bath.
While they wait for dinner to arrive, Margaret wraps his ribs as snugly as Leo can stand it. "Leo, if you need me to later, I can loosen it a little, but Abby said snug to support the ribs."
Leo rubs his right hand around his ribs testing the wrapping, " OK, it might get easier after I wear the wrap awhile."
"Leo, you really want to wear a shirt tonight?" Margaret knows that if they were at the apartment he wouldn't bother with one, in this situation.
"Yeah, there'll be the food service in and out yet tonight." Leo jokes and give her a reason, "I just don't want to give anyone a free show of my dashing body."
"Sure, Leo, we'd have to beat them off with clubs for weeks, after seeing your bare chest," Margaret teases, while she gently helps him to get the t-shirt stretched on. ~Good thing the President is larger than Leo, it makes getting the shirt on he easier.~
Margaret brings the ointment out to put on his torn knuckles, before she wraps them. "Leo, I found some ointment called Polysporin that looks like just what you need. My next curious question is: does the President really need all these first-aid supplies? I mean, he had everything you needed for after getting beaten up or is it the fact that Abby is a doctor?"
Leo chuckles and explains, "A little of both. Remember, Margaret, he rode my bike into a tree and he likes to play basketball with the younger staff members." Leo leans closer to her to reveal a secret. "Afterwards, he comes up here and Abby has to put him back together again."
"Leo, that's not a nice way to talk about your best friend," Margaret scolds Leo for implying that the President's accident-prone.
"Why? It's the truth. He's a klutz," Leo states an obvious fact.
She rolls her eyes at his remarks, while she wraps his knuckles with white gauze to keep the ointment in place. "Leo, now you look the total package."
"How's that, Margaret," he grins knowing she's going to tease him again.
"With your bruises and the wrapped hands, you look like at prizefighter after a bad fight. All you need is Josh's baggy silk shorts and we 'would' need to take pictures for framing. Like at the end of the 'Rocky' movie." She can see he's getting a kick out of that visual. "Oh, no, Leo. I'm not looking in their stuff to find you a camera. You don't need a picture that bad and if you do, you can get Coop to take it." His eyes light up at that suggestion. She rolls her eyes again, sorry she'd mentioned it. "It must be a guy thing, Leo. You act like it would be a trophy."
"Well, Margaret, there were two of them," Leo boasts.
"And that's suppose to be the bright side, Leo?" Margaret gives up trying to figure out the good part of that statement. "Men!"
Margaret just gives him a disapproving look. She decides to leave him to his own devises till dinner arrives. "Abby offered me the use of her clothes and after I find them." She injected, "You need a map for this bedroom alone." She continues with her plans, "I'm going to go take a shower in the guest room."
"You could use the President's bathroom, not everyone has the opportunity or can say they did," Leo tries to tempt her.
"Not in this lifetime, Leo." She feels she has pushed her luck far enough tonight.
"I'll be using the guest room shower." She walks over beside him and makes sure his ice pack is OK. "Think you can stay out of trouble for a little while?"
He decides to cause a little trouble, "Ah, Margaret, if you're worried about me, you could take me in with you. I could sit in there and you can see if I'm still OK. There's a glass shower door." He tries to make it sound like it would be logical.
She pulls his shirt back down over the ice pack, "Leo, I'm not stupid. You just 'conveniently' remembered the glass shower door. So I can keep an 'eye' on you." She sits on the edge of the couch looking into his face, "More like, so you can keep an 'eye' on me." She drops a kiss on his forehead. She then smirks," Nice try!"
Leo chuckles at getting caught "Thought I'd give it a try. I might have gotten lucky." He changes tactics, " Hey, I'm injured here." He can tell the sympathy ploy is not working, so he tries sounding disappointed, "I guess I did have my hopes up."
She lays a hand on his thigh to tease him and speaks in a soft voice, "Leo, if I were to take you in there with me. I know something else that would be up and you're in no condition to follow through." She smiles brightly at him and continues in a hushed voice, "And you're absolutely not going to be able to, for a while with those ribs, Leo." She shuts him down sweetly.
"Margaret, you're killing me now," he growls loudly in frustration.
"I told you to be good," she reminds him that he started it. "Think you can stay out of trouble for a little while," she re-asks her previous question. She stands to go search for the clothes.
"Sure, just help me find where Jed hid the remote. He can't operate it and he always loses it," he grumbles still frustrated with her teasing.
"Leo, you two are always picking on each other," she slightly scolds him for taking it out on his friend.
"That's what we do, Margaret. It's us!" Leo says this like it explains the whole Jed and Leo relationship.
"I'm really am 'so' glad you two have each other, to care about and to inflict yourselves on each other." She says this last part with sarcasm, as she hands him the remote she found on the nightstand. She can imagine that Abby agrees with her, since she's been dealing with them longer.
"Leo, if I'm not out of Abby's closet in ten minutes, you send in a search party," she's half serious.
"Yes, Dear. Good thing Butterfield is at the farm. You'd probably request his 'personal' help," Leo just has to get in a dig.
"Leo, you're 'my' hero." She can get some real mileage out of reminding him. From inside the closet she calls out to him, "I don't need an Secret Service agent. I just need you."
She returns in just a few minutes, holding some clothing. She's happy to find that Abby has satin lounge pants and she decides on a baggy tank top. Margaret notices that Leo's now lounging on the couch, just like at the apartment. Right at home, in the presidential bedroom's sitting area and surfing for news programs. ~I know the First Couple told us to make ourselves at home and I'm still half terrified to be in here, but Leo's taking his friends invitation. Oh, Lord, if the Republicans ever got a picture of Leo right now, we'd never hear the end of it. The headlines of the press would be, 'Now we know 'who' the real President, really is', with a picture of Leo as he is now. I have got to quit borrowing trouble. We find enough on our own.~ She walks over to check his ice pack on his ribs. "Leo, I'm going to be in the shower for a few minutes. Are you going to be, OK? Can you handle the food service if they show up before I'm back," she asks with real concern. She can see he's fading fast, now that everything is over and he has been cleaned up and patched up.
"Yeah, they'll just put it on the table over there. I'll wait here and you can help me to get up off the couch. I think that's going to be the hard part, for the next few days."
She smoothes back his damp hair, "More like a week, Leo. You're going to have to get used to someone helping you up and down."
Leo rolls his eyes, "Oh, Lord, the 'kids' are going to love that. I can hear the 'old man' jokes now."
"They can joke all they want." She slides her hand tenderly down his bruised face, "I'm just glad you're not more seriously hurt and you just remind them it was 'two against one'."
Leo grins at her reminder of his macho boast, "I'll try to graciously let them help! I've carried them a time or two." He snuggles his face into her cupped hand and unconsciously rubs his undamaged finger tips gently down the outside of her leg.
"Good, Leo, promote team effort." She gently raises his chin in her hand, "As long as you don't hurt your ribs any more by being contrary and doing everything yourself," she scolds in advance.
Leo grumbles in agreement, "I'll try, but if Josh smothers me, I'll tear into him."
"Leo, he cares about you like family. Family takes care of family," Margaret gently reminds him. She adds with confidence, "Expect to see him and Donna tomorrow."
"Yeah, the next week might get interesting, with my hands and my ribs hurting," he jokes.
"Yeah," she readily agrees with him. "You'll probably are going to need a keeper, more than usual."
"Margaret," he growls a warning at her dig.
"I'm going, now," she sweetly informs him. "Watch your news programs."
He pouts, "I get insulted and then I don't get to do any of the fun things tonight because of my hands. This sucks."
"Glad to see your feeling better, Leo," she teases him. "Behave. I'll be right back."
"OK, you just like to order me around," he states. He then grumbles to himself, "I need to keep you away from Abby. She's a bad influence on you. You two are too much alike."
"Yeah, we are," is Margaret's parting shot, with a big grin.
****
Margaret returns to the sitting area in the master bedroom and finds that dinner and the ice did arrive, while she was in the shower.
"Leo, we need to move you to the table to eat. Even though it is just 10:30, you look like you're half asleep."
"Yeah, you're right." Leo acknowledges, "It must be from the trauma and the adrenaline from tonight." He chuckles and he adds, "I feel like, 'I was rode rough and put away wet'."
Margaret chuckles, also, at his feeling like an abused horse. "Poor, Leo, you 'do' need to eat and rest."
Agent Cooper calls to report in, while they're at the table eating and Margaret hands him the phone, "Mr. McGarry, we've run through the security video tapes several times and we've only got a partial plate number. We were hoping for more this time."
"Tell me the grim details, Coop" Leo's not happy, but it's not Agent Coopers fault.
They didn't have a front plate on the vehicle, which would have given use the best look of it, on video, while they were parked. The camera just got a glimpse at the rear plate as they were speeding out of the garage. We were able to read that, after we slowed the video down and then checked it frame by frame. We did get a made of the van this time. Sorry, I can't give you any better details at this time, Sir. We'll keep on it, Sir."
"Thanks, Coop. Leo knows this is the kind of thing that just eats at the agents, " I know you are."
Leo hands the phone back to Margaret and just shakes his head to indicate no news to Margaret. She lays her hand on his arm and neither speaks, in their joint disappointment.
****
After they have eaten, Leo's back on the couch and Margaret wonders about moving him again, "Leo, do you think you should go to bed, in the guest room, now?"
"I'm OK for now," Leo assures her. "I just want to lie here a little while.' He gently touches the ice pack under his shirt, "The meds seem to be helping and it's easier to be sitting propped up."
Margaret watches his face for signs of pain as he adjusts the ice pack, "OK. Can I do anything to help?"
Leo gives her a small, sore smile, "Yeah, you can slip in here behind my back and let me lean back against you." He sadly adds, "That's about the best we can do for cuddling and I 'really' need to cuddle some tonight." She moves over to the couch and he hooks a bandaged hand around her legs, just to touch her, "I guess it's starting to sink in, how close we came to having our lives changed tonight."
She seriously acknowledges he's right, "I know, Leo, and I always love to cuddle with you. I was just afraid of hurting you some more."
Leo invites her to join him by slowly rolling toward the edge, onto his right side, holding his ribs. She gently eases her leg over Leo's body, careful of his ribs and lies down behind him. She straights the cushions behind her and signals to Leo she's ready for him to roll back. "Easy, Leo. I'll ease you back against me. Don't use your stomach muscles any more than you have to."
"I promise you, I won't, Margaret. It hurts too much when I move," Leo moans as he settles back against Margaret. "If you need to get out, later, you'll just have to wiggle out." He's panting a little till the pain in his ribs settles back down.
"That would please you, I'm sure," she teases him to get him to relax and pulls his arm back to rest on her leg, instead of the weight of it resting on his sore ribs.
He rubs her leg with his forearm, so he won't hurt his hand, "I'll suffer through it somehow, Margaret," he chuckles low in his chest.
After Leo is comfortable, Margaret makes an observation. She looks around and reflects on the fact that they're in the Presidential bedroom, cuddling on the couch just like at home. "Leo, it's a good thing that Abby and the President aren't due back till Monday. They'd throw us bums out." She's making light of the overwhelming situation that she has found herself in that most people they know would be appalled at, if they even dreamed it.
Leo gives her a tired chuckle, "No, they wouldn't. They'd just tease us unmercifully."
"He would, I know that," Margaret confirms. "You have him helping you, to make me blush." Margaret remembers all the kindness they received tonight, "She would want to help."
"Right," Leo remarks sarcastically, "She'd help me and torment me at the same time." Leo pauses a short while and then gets serious, "Margaret, I was so scared tonight. It's been along time since I had to defend myself physically."
Margaret drops a kiss on his head, "It's OK, Leo, to be scared when you're attacked. It turns on the adrenaline to help you," she gives him logic, to ease his mind.
"Margaret, I was more scared afterwards." He tries to explain, "They said they were going to get you and I didn't have any way to protect you. I was terrified that they would jump you in the parking lot, like they did me." He quietly states, "You couldn't get away." He closes his eyes, remembering the mere minutes that seemed like an hour, till he knew she was safe. "I get shaky just thinking about it."
Margaret tightens her arms around Leo tighter, " Leo, I'm right here and you're in my arms. We are both safe and protected here. There are lots of people looking out for our safety."
Leo complains, "But I had to call the SS to get you safe. I couldn't do it myself."
She consoles him, "That was the best thing you could do, Leo. You used the best resources you had available to you, to get me safe."
He knows she's right, but it doesn't sit right with him yet. "I just wanted to hold you safe in my arms," he admits very quietly.
She whispers in his ear, "Leo, I'll say it again. You're my hero, everyday." He squeezes her arms that wrap around his chest, with his forearms. His hands are getting to stiff, to use.
He requests in a voice near tears, "Margaret, hold me, hold me tight. I just need you to hold us together tonight. I'm not very strong right now."
She contently sighs and snuggles as close to him, as she can, "Leo, I'll hold us together for all time, if that's what we need. We're the best thing that has happened to each other and nothing is going to break that apart." She confidently adds, "Not even fear."
Leo reflects on what he has and quietly like a prayer he tells her, "Margaret, I don't know what star shined down on me when you walked into my life, but I can never begin to be thankful enough that you did. You have given me my life back to me so many times over the years and now you 'are' my life." He kisses her bare shoulder beside his face.
"Oh, Leo." She happily sighs, "That star shined on me also, we had to go down that road to get where we are. The world sees us as a package. I'm your Margaret and you're my Leo. We're one life, not two different lives."
Margaret kisses his head that's resting on her breast and tightens her arms to give him a squeeze to reassure him. Her tears slide silently down her cheeks, as she feels a tear from Leo wet her arm as he snuggles against her shoulder.
"I love you, Leo," she whispers in his ear.
"I love you, Margaret, more than you know" he responds back with a soft rough whisper.
They lay quiet and content, cuddled together and are soon asleep on the couch.
****
Earlier at the Manchester Farm.
Abby hangs up the phone after giving Margaret instructions. Jed is looking at her with concern. "Abby, that was quite a lot of instructions for just some bruises and cuts. You mentioned a possible hairline fracture. You sure he doesn't need to go to GW? I could order him to go get checked and the agents will see it is done," Jed's speaking rapidly and he wants to help Leo, even if he has to pull his Presidential clout into play.
"I know, Jed." Abby agrees with a thoughtful look on her face, "Margaret should be able to carry them out. She's very efficient and this is 'her' Leo she's treating." Abby tries to sound confident to reassure Jed. "I'm sure she'll carry out my instructions, even if Leo protests."
"If you say so." Jed still gives her a worried look. "You're the doctor in this, then."
She's thinking a few moments and then comments out loud, "I do wish I'd been there to check him out myself. Margaret said it was quite a lot of bruising."
Jed's still worrying about Leo hurting, " Abby, won't he be in some 'real' pain in the morning. Won't Margaret have to decide when to call you for what he needs to control the pain and stiffness? Leo can't take narcotics to control it and the day after is always the worst."
"That can be true," Abby has to admit. "Jed, we know Leo's not going to go and be admitted for 24 hours for observation." She throws her arms up in defeat, "There's not much we can do from here."
"Abby, lets go back to the White House," Jed has wanted to say that, since he first heard the news of Leo's attack.
"OK, Jed. I agree." Abby is as eager as he is, to get back and check on Leo. "Jed, let the agents know we need to leave first thing in the morning." She's all ready setting her traveling case on the ottoman, to start packing for the departure in the morning.
Jed places his hands on her shoulders, to get her to hold still, "No, Abby. I mean now." He gets into his full planning mode, "They can bring around the Limo and we hit the road now, to take us to the Air Force base and hop on Marine 1. We could be at the White House in a coupe of hours." He grins at heading home and seeing Leo.
Abby happily looks at him likes he's a really smart man, "You might be right, Jed. I know we both aren't going to get much sleep, till we see him."
"Get your shoes on, Abby, we're outta here as soon as they can bring the car around, ," Jed orders her as he leaves the room and this time she's happy to comply.
The President strides from the room in search of Agent Butterfield, who is not going to be happy. ~That's tough. I'm the President. Plus, Ron can handle the investigation in person. I have got to see, Leo. He sounds cocky on the phone, but I know he's hurt and was scared. I want to be there with him. I need to see he's going to be OK. I want Abby to see him and tell me, he's going to be OK. ~
He enters the kitchen and finds Agent Butterfield sipping coffee. The agent becomes alert when the President enters the room.
"Sir, do you need something," Agent Butterfield asks when he see the determination on the President's face.
"Ron, we're returning to the White House," The President states as fact.
"Yes, Sir, we can have everything ready to leave, as soon as you're ready in the morning." He then adds to let the President know that some preparation has been made, "I already anticipated that you'd want to return to the White House in the morning."
The President clarifies the time table, "No, Ron. Now!"
Agent Butterfield doesn't give away any concern he feel on his composed face, "Sir, that's going to be a little hard to implement, immediately."
The President does concede that some security procedures have to be completed before he can be transported, "OK, you have 30 minutes. Call the Air Force base and have them get Marine 1 ready. Abby's packing as we speak."
"Sir," Agent Butterfield tries to stall the President, but he can tell that this is one time; he'd be wasting his breath.
"Let's move." The President orders as he leaves to inform Abby that they're 'are' leaving tonight.
****
4am at the White House
The President and Abby disembark from the Limo. They enter the quiet lobby and head straight for the Residence. "Abby, I bet Leo's had a real time of it, calming Margaret down, when she finally got here to Leo's office and saw he was injured." Jed reveals some of his thoughts, "She can be a nervous person on good days, but with Leo hurt." The President gives his wife a look of compassion for Leo.
Abby has some experience to draw her opinions from, "I don't think she was that bad after she saw he was going to be all right. The bad part would have been waiting to find out." She glances sideways at her husband with a knowing look. He acknowledges her truth, by looking at the floor with his hands in his pockets. Abby reveals her idea of when there might have been some problems, "Leo might have had to reassure Margaret after it was all over and she was out of things to do for him. That would be the time that Margaret might fall apart. Leo probably had a heck of a time consoling her and getting her to sleep tonight. He's probably upstairs with her clinging to him for comfort."
Jed agrees and adds to that scenario, "That's if he got her to enter a bedroom to sleep." He remembers her nervousness on the phone that evening, "She seemed to be pretty in awe of the fact she was inside the residence. She may have been too intimidated to sleep anywhere, but in a chair." Jed smiles, "That might have been a battle also."
Abby suggests, "Let's be quiet when we enter and just let them sleep. There are just a few hours till they'll be up anyway." She then conveys to Jed what she expects to do, if they are asleep, " I just want to observe Leo's breathing and to see if he's restless and in pain." She knows Jed's impatience nature, "Don't you wake him. I want him to sleep as long as he will. He's going to be in real pain when he gets up in the morning."
Jed admits, "Yeah, Leo'll be stubborn and try to cover it up, if we don't make him tell us. We'll have to watch for signs for how bad he's hurting and also not to let him do too much for himself."
"Today's Sunday and I want him on total rest," Abby lets Jed in on her plans for Leo's day. Abby now threatens, "He 'will' if I have to tie him to the couch. He's not going to his office."
"The agents won't let him out of the residence, if I say so," Jed proclaims.
"You say so, Jed," Abby orders him.
They exit the secure elevator to the residence area and Jed tells the agents Abby's order for Leo tomorrow. Abby waits at the door for him, before she enters the residence. Since they're not sure which room Leo and Margaret may be in and they don't want to inadvertently wake them. They scan the main sitting room and they don't see them on any of the couches. They really didn't expect them out there in the main room. No TV for Leo, his lifeline. They next split up and each take a side of the room and check the guest rooms, which flank the sitting room. Both come up empty. Abby whispers, "Jed, looks like Margaret used the shower in this last guest room, but the bed is still made."
Jed grins, "Well, Dear, that leaves only one room: ours." He cheerily whispers to Abby, "We did insist they use my bathroom for Leo and our room does have a TV." He then adds like it's a great joke on them, "We may be the ones sleeping in a guest room tonight."
"No, Jed. I agree with your prior opinion about Margaret and there's no way she'd sleep in the President's 'actual' bed." Abby adds with certainty about Margaret, "She'd sleep on the floor first. Especially since she knows us personally."
The President grins and suggests, "Let's find out what they're up to, my Dear." He quietly turns the handle to one of the doors to the master suite and slowly swings the door open to see the TV playing, with the volume down low. They can see that their bed is still made and empty. They softly creep over to the couch facing the TV and find Leo being protectively held in Margaret's arms. He's resting spooned back against her. The President raises his eyebrows at the reverse of what they expected. Margaret's holding Leo in comfort. He looks at Abby in askance for what to do next. She's looking at Leo in the dim light of the TV, trying to inspect what damage she can see and to observe his breathing. It looks like Margaret has a good handle on his care for now. Abby looks at Jed and places an index finger to her lips, for him to not make a sound and then points to his dressing room/closet. They slip into the small room and quietly close the door. In a soft whisper Jed asks, "Now what? Do we wake them and let them know we're here, since they're on the couch? Wouldn't Leo be more comfortable in a bed? He looks pretty bad to me, Abby, and we didn't even see his ribs." Jed's full of questions, now that he's seen part of Leo's injuries.
She tries to calm and reassure him, "Jed, actually he's probably more comfortable leaning up on Margaret and that's probably why he's actually sleeping. I think we should just leave them there." She lets him know that she feels better now about Leo, "All I want is to be close enough, to hear if his breathing changes or if he's in real pain. This is probably the best arrangement I could hope for. They wouldn't have agreed to sleep where I could personally keep an eye on him all night, if we'd been here earlier." She sounds pleased, "Now, they don't have a choice."
"I agree, that's the best," Jed accepts her opinion. "Then I guess we should change and get some sleep our selves."
"I'm just going to wear some of your soft clothes and not risk crossing the bedroom to my closet." She starts to dig into his Notre Dame t-shirts, "We can slip into bed for a couple of hours sleep."
Jed softly makes a prediction, "You know, Margaret's just going to die, when she realizes she's sleeping in the same room as the First Couple." He happily anticipates, "That might be fun. Leo won't mind us here, but I might get a dig into him later about it."
Abby scolds him in a hushed whisper and she pulls on some of his sweatpants, "Jed, quit planning your fun and get changed." She watches him step out of his jeans and she warns him again, "Be quiet."
Once they are both changed, they then slip into the bedroom and while they're turning down the bedspread, they freeze as they hear Leo stir in his sleep. He mumbles the words, "Stop, Margaret, hurry, and get safe."
They immediately hear Margaret's sleepy words of comfort, "Leo, It's OK now. We're safe. I'm here. I have you, Leo." They see her drop a kiss on his head, in her sleep.
Leo softly replies, " OK." The two on the couch get quiet again.
The First Couple smile at each other in the dim light and quietly slip into bed to cuddle like their friends on the couch.
****