Title: A FEW Things Change (1/10)
By: adoreleo
Rating: Overall Rating for this story is a strong PG13 - Contains some language, sexual innuendo and situations.
Characters: Leo, Margaret, Abbey, and Josh
Spoilers: Anything up to and including Memorial Day and some spoilers from season six.
Disclaimer: The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they don't belong to me.
Beta, Brainstorming & Additional Ideas By: Lynn, who always goes above and beyond the call. THANKS!!!!
Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated.
Author's Notes: This story idea came to me while I was attending 2004 FEW (Federally Employed Women) Conference in Nashville, TN this past July. I got to thinking about what would happen to Margaret if she came to this event, and then I developed the story from there. A couple of things that happen to Margaret actually happened to me. They seemed so Margaret like that I had to include them. The term TDY is the government slang for business trip it means Temporary Duty. Orders are the paper work that permits you to be gone from your normal duty station and Government Per Diem is the total amount of money that you are allotted for hotel and food per day.
Part 1
Leo is on his way back to his office when his hip catches, almost causing him to fall. He quickly looks around, making sure that no one saw what just happened. He leans one hand against the wall, taking a couple of seconds to gather himself as he finally realizes he can't put it off any longer. He looks around hallway, making sure that no one, especially Margaret, is nowhere in sight and then he steps into the alcove, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
"Dr. Franklin's office, how can I help you?" A young sounding voice says on the other end of the phone.
"Hi, this is Leo McGarry and I need to make an appointment with the doctor."
"Okay. Have you seen Dr. Franklin before?"
"Yes, but it's been awhile."
"Is it an emergency?"
"Nah, not really. It's more of a chronic problem that's been bothering me more lately."
"Okay, let me see what he's got available," she says, as she searches for an open appointment slot on her computer. "Okay, the first available appointment he has is almost two weeks away, Monday, July 18 at three o'clock. Is that okay, Mr. McGarry?"
"Yeah, that'll be fine," he says, and then quickly realizes that Margaret will be gone that week. He breathes a sigh of relief, because now he won't have to worry about lying to her.
"Is your phone number still 555-9890?"
"No. Let me give you my cell phone number, it's the best way to reach me. It's 555-2312"
"Okay, we'll see you then."
"Thank you," Leo says, as he flips his cell phone shut and steps out of the alcove.
Leo slowly walks the rest of the way back to his office and sets the stack of files he's been carrying down on his desk. He heads over to the half open door that leads to Margaret's area. He's about to open it the rest of the way and ask for his messages, but he stops when he hears Margaret speaking softly to someone on the phone.
"Lynette, I just don't feel like going to FEW this year. No, I don't think I'll change my mind. Not since... well I don't want to go without Donna and well... things have been... sorta strained around here lately and," Margaret quickly looks around, making sure no one is within ear shot and whispers, "I really don't think I should leave Leo right now."
Leo stiffens when he hears her comment about him. He thought he'd been doing a better job of hiding his problems with the President, but then again, this is Margaret, she has always had the propensity of knowing what's going on with him. After all, she was the first one to recognize that there was something terrible wrong, when Jenny left him.
Actually, he's surprised that she hasn't said anything to him about what's been going on between him and the President. There have been plenty of looks thrown his way and 'almost comments', but she hasn't approached the subject yet. Leo sighs and slowly turns away from the door, walks over to his desk, and then sits down. He picks up a briefing book and tries to read it, but his mind strays.
Flashback Oct 1999
"Margaret," he bellows, as he rummages around his desk.
"Yes, Leo," she tersely answers as she comes running. He's been yelling at her, not for her, for three days now. He's been out of sorts ever since he forgot his wedding anniversary, which she knows for a fact that he more than made for, because she made all the arrangements. She's sure that Jenny loved the very expensive necklace he bought her and the fancy meal. So she's not sure what his problem is.
"What the hell did you do with that briefing on the budget numbers?" He growls, as he continues to search through the stack of files on his desk. "I can't find a damn thing anymore in this office."
"Leo, I'm still working on the latest revisions that you gave me not more than ten minutes ago," she heatedly huffs back at him. He's really starting to be pain in the ass to work for lately. She hasn't been this pissed at him since his drinking days when he was Labor Secretary, and he used to sometimes show up at her door, drunk and needing a place to stay.
"Well then get back out there and finish them," he yells, pointing towards the door. "I still need to look them over before I go to the meeting."
"Leo, you've revised the briefing four times already, soon it's going to look exactly like it did when you first started," she sarcastically points out. "I know for a fact that some of the things I changed for the first revision are now back in this current version."
"Damnit Jenny, stop nagging me," he says in a rush.
Margaret stops dead in her tracks and stares at Leo. She can't believe he just said that. Confusion and hurt quickly wash across her face. "What the hell did you just say?" She asks with her arms crossed in anger.
A shocked Leo stares back at her for a few seconds until finally it dawns on him what he's just done. He slumps against the desk as his head drops, "I'm sorry Margaret," he mumbles in a voice barely above a whisper.
Margaret's dumbfounded. She watches him for a few seconds trying to figure out whether she should leave or not. She finally moves towards the door, closes it and walks back over to Leo. She puts a hand on his arm, "Leo, what's wrong?" She asks, in a voice full of care and concern.
Leo moves over to the couch and sits down. Margaret follows and sits down next to him. He sits there quietly for a couple of minutes, with his head in his hands. Finally, he raises his head and looks at Margaret, "Jenny left me... she's... asking me for a divorce," he says in a raspy voice, full of emotion.
"Oh Leo, I'm so sorry," she says as she places a hand on his leg.
"Yeah, me too," he says softly to himself, as he covers her hand with his.
End of Flashback
Margaret hangs up the phone, grabs a file off her desk and walks into Leo's office, "Oh, you're back," she says, as she strides over to the filing cabinet against the wall and files away the folder that's in her hand.
"Yeah," he quietly says, not looking up from the briefing book that he's been pretending to read for the past few minutes, while he's been thinking about recent events.
"I'll get your messages," she bobs her head, quickly turns and starts to leave his low lit office.
"Margaret, umm... wait a minute," he breathes a heavy sigh, closing the briefing book and tossing it on his desk.
"What is it, Leo?" She asks, slight concern showing in her voice and on her face. She knows that something is bothering him. Well she knows that there's a rift between him and the President, but this is something different she suspects. She could tell by the uncomfortable tone of his voice.
Leo nervously clears his throat. "Sit please," he motions to one of the chairs in front of his desk.
Margaret walks over to the chair, eases herself into it, tugs her skirt down, folds her hands in her lap and then stares intently back at him.
"Margaret, I just wanted to check with ya and see if you got a temp for when you are at that federal woman's thing in two weeks." He tries to act indifferent about her upcoming trip.
Margaret glares back at him. 'Since when has he worried about if I've arranged for a temp for him', she reflects to herself. "Well... I've been meaning to speak with umm... you about that," she cautiously admits, smoothing some imaginary wrinkles on her skirt.
"What about it?" Leo responds trying to sound unaware. He doesn't want her to know that he overheard her phone conversation. He feels guilty that he stood there and listened in on her conversation for as long as he did.
"I umm... don't think I want to go this year," Margaret explains looking down at her hands that are now fidgeting in her lap. She's never been able to look Leo in the eye when she's trying to mislead him.
"Why not? You've been going to that conference for years. You've always looked forward to going in the past and always seem to have a wonderful time," he reasons, maybe a little too forcefully, arching his brow. He really thought that he was home free with his doctor's appointment. He knows there's no way that he'll be able to hide it from her, if she's still here.
"Leo, you've always been great about letting me go all these years, but it's... well I just thought that maybe... it was time to let one of the new people go... like Rena," she hesitantly suggests.
"I thought you'd love to get a chance to get away from me for a whole week," he smirks, with his best impish grin.
Margaret stares back at Leo as it dawns on her, he must have overheard her talking on the phone with Lynette. She quickly recovers, "That's not the only reason why I go, although I do have to admit that it is a fringe benefit," she sweetly smiles, trying not to make a big deal out of not going this year. He needs her more than ever this year and she just doesn't want to leave him. She suspects that there is more going on with him than just the situation with the President.
"Ah... yeah," Leo says with a slow deep intonation. "Look... I heard you on the phone," he motions towards her office. "You shouldn't be thinking about not going just because of Donna. She's going to be fine, and she won't like it if she finds out that you didn't go cause of her."
"Well, I don't plan on telling her," giving him her best squinty eyed look. "And you better not be thinking about calling her, either." She informs him, as she folds her arms over her chest.
"I won't call her, but ya know what a big mouth Josh has. He'll be on the phone with her within minutes of finding out," he insinuates.
"How's he going to find out?" She wonders aloud.
"I'll tell him," Leo smirks, with a lopsided grin.
"Leo!" She says in an exasperated voice.
"Margaret, isn't the conference in Nashville this year?" Leo watches Margaret bob her head. "And isn't one of those country singers going to be there that you really like?" He looks at the surprised expression on Margaret's face and gives her a grin.
"How did you know that it's going to be in Nashville this year and that Sarah Evans was going to be there?" Margaret asks, trying to keep her bewilderment from showing on her face. She realizes she has been unsuccessful, by the knowing grin that is now spread across Leo's face.
"Margaret, you and Donna have been yakking about this for months, ever since you two got back from last year's FEW Conference in Chicago. Which... by the way, I might add is a lot more interesting and exciting place to visit than Nashville, Tennessee," he informs her, wishing that he could show her the sights and sounds of the real Chicago someday.
"You're only saying that... because you're a 'Man of Chicago'," she lightly smirks, as she notices that she's getting a playful grin and a nod of the head from her boss for her Chicago comment. "I bet the voters in Tennessee wouldn't agree with you," she advises him.
Margaret tries to keep the growing smile off her face. She's astounded that Leo remembers the name of the conference and where it was held last year. How the hell did this man ever forget something as important as his own wedding anniversary? Margaret slightly blushes at the implications of him remembering something trivial about her might mean. Does it indicate he cares about her? She'd give anything if only that were true.
"Margaret, is Donna the only reason you don't want to go?" He leans forward in his chair, rests his elbows on the edge of his desk and stares intently at her while waiting for her response.
Margaret shifts uncomfortably in her chair under Leo's scrutiny. She suddenly realizes that he must have heard the last part of her earlier phone conversation with Lynette, too. "It's... well, there's a lot going on here right now and I..." she nervously clears her throat. "And I don't think the timing is right and..."
"Margaret," Leo sighs, slowly shaking his head and leaning back in his chair. "You and I both know that's not true. I haven't exactly had a lot to do around here since... well let's just say that Josh has more on his plate right now and I don't see that changing in the near future."
Margaret looks down at her hands and then back up at Leo and slowly bobs her head in silent agreement.
"There's no reason why you can't go. As a matter of fact, I insist that you go," Leo presses her, getting up from his chair and moving around to the front of his desk, folding his arms and leaning against it.
"But..." she insists, crossing her arms, too.
"But, nothing," Leo interrupts her. "Margaret, It's gonna be fine. It'll all blow over soon," he says in a less than convincing voice than he had intended, as he motions towards the Oval Office.
"Leo," she returns, moving to the edge of her chair. She decides against standing up, because if she did then their faces would only be inches apart, and she's not sure that she can control herself right now. All she wants to do is take him in her arms, kiss him and tell him that it will all be okay.
"Look... do I need to order you to go?" He asks, as he unfolds his arms and points a finger towards her. He may not have the full power of his office anymore, but he's certain that he still has some control over what Margaret does.
"I don't think you can do that," she wisecracks as she scoots back in her chair, trying to lighten the moment.
"Margaret, you need to get away," Leo hesitates, trying a different more personal line of reasoning. She needs to stop taking care of him and start taking care of herself for once. "It's been... a long year," he rationalizes.
"It's been an even longer and more difficult year for you," she quickly points out a little harsher than she had intended, as she pops up out of her chair and is now just inches away from his face. She can almost feel the heat of his body and she can smell his expensive cologne that drives her crazy.
Leo raises an eyebrow at her last comment. Leo retreats from his spot, because his body is suddenly very aware of its proximity to Margaret. He sits down behind his desk to put some space between them and to hide the arousing predicament that he's starting to experience, "All the more reason for you to go and leave me alone for a week. It'll be like... a vacation for me too... and yet... I won't have to go anywhere," he retorts, forcing a grin on his face.
"You're not very funny," she smiles though flushed cheeks, as she takes her seat again.
"I am too," he genially smiles this time.
"Okay, I'll... go." She can't resist his smile. "I've really have been looking forward to going to and staying at the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center. Did you know that hotel itself covers a little over nine acres, and that you'll be surrounded by breathtaking indoor gardens, winding pathways, and cascading waterfalls, under a magnificent glass atrium and it has a Mississippi-style flatboats ride inside of it?" She rattles off.
"Yes, I know I know. Gwad Margaret, have you memorized the brochure about it?" He reinstates, rising a hand towards her. "Remember, I'm the one you're been spewing off inane details to for the past twelve months, about it," he softly laughs.
"I've not been that bad," she argues, trying to look innocent.
"Margaret," he growls.
"Well, maybe," she softly laughs, as she gets up and heads for the door. "I'll get someone from the secretary pool to fill in for me. Any preferences?" She still can't help but feel guilty about leaving him. She knows he'll never admit it, but he needs her.
"Just make sure I don't get a tall lanky red head, who loves nothing better to do than to try to drive me crazy by trying to get me to eat all the time or telling me silly jokes," he laughs.
"Funny man," she quips, as she leaves his office.
"What'd ya say?" Leo asks, enjoying the banter between them. The truth be told, he's really not looking forward to Margaret being gone.
"Nothing," she laughs as she heads for her desk to get her Orders ready for her TDY to Nashville.
Two weeks later, Margaret arrives at the Nashville Metropolitan Airport early Sunday afternoon. She takes the free hotel shuttle, instead of a cab; cause there's no reason to waste the government's money on a cab. She arrives at the Gaylord Resort Hotel and Convention Center and is stunned by the enormity of it. She'd read about it and seen pictures of it on the Internet, but nothing can fully prepare you for the immense magnitude of it all.
"Hi, I'm Margaret McGuire here for the FEW Conference and I need to check in, please," she says, handing the young lady behind the counter her credit card and confirmation paperwork.
"Welcome to the Gaylord Resort Hotel and Convention Center, Ms. McGuire," she replies, while looking up her room assignment.
Margaret nods her head and then proceeds to look around the huge lobby; she is half-listening when the young lady tells her what room she's been assigned. "Umm... okay, thank-you."
"If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to call us," she adds, with a warm southern smile.
Margaret walks away a little confused, she thought she heard the girl behind the counter say something about the President. 'How does she know that I work in the White House?' She thinks to herself as she walks away.
When Margaret gets in the elevator, she's surprised that she has to use her room key to get to her floor. She gets off the elevator and locates the direction of her room and heads for it. When she gets to her room she finds at double door, she's confused. She's never had a double door on a hotel room. She rechecks the number on her paperwork and verifies that it's the correct room. As she is inserting the key card, she notices a plaque next to her room. It says Delta Presidential Suite. So that's what the lady behind the desk was talking about, not that she worked for the President but that she was in a Presidential suite. She enters the room and immediately calls the front desk.
"Hello, Ms. McGuire, how may I help you," the friendly voice asks on the other end of the line says after only one ring.
"Ah," she stutters, surprised that they know who's calling. "I think there's been a mistake. I didn't reserve a suite. Someone's made a huge mistake, because my Government Per Diem won't cover this," she rattles off, in a panic.
"Let me check our records, can you hold please?" She says politely.
"Yes, I'll hold," Margaret agrees, biting her lip while she impatiently waits. What is she going to do? She can't afford to pay the difference, because a room like this must go for over well five hundred dollars a night, probably even more. That's more money for one night, than she allotted for a hotel for the whole week here.
Margaret wanders around the room, while she's on hold. There are several doors off the main sitting area, a full size bar against the wall and next to it a Baby Grand piano. Behind the first door she finds a full kitchenette, the next room she explores is a nice sized bedroom with two queen beds and a private bath.
She is heading for the last door, when a voice comes back on the phone, "Ms. McGuire, there's been no mistake. Your room was upgraded two weeks ago," she informs her.
"But, I didn't... I can't afford to pay..." Margaret tries to explain in a panic.
"Ms. McGuire, your room has already been paid for, in full, by a Leo McGarry," she informs her.
"Oh, okay. Thank-you," she breathes into the phone. She puts down the phone and stands there for a few seconds, with her hands on her hips. She's really going to let him have it for wasting his money on such an elaborate room.
Margaret digs her cell phone out of her purse and calls Leo's hotel. There's no answer, so she calls the office. After a couple of rings, that familiar gravelly voice answers, "Yeah, McGarry here."
"Leo, it's me," Margaret says, after entering the master bedroom and sitting down on the king sized bed.
"Hey, Margaret, what's up" Leo returns, grinning as to the reason for her call. He's been expecting it.
"Don't what's up me, Leo McGarry. You know perfectly well the reason behind this call," she retorts, as she exhales out an audible breath.
"Well... I'm gonna go out on a limb here, Margaret and guess that you're talking about your recent room upgrade at the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center," he says in a mocking tone.
"Leo, what were you thinking? This room is enormous and far too big for one person. You spend way too much money," Margaret accuses, slightly annoyed with Leo for spending his money on her. She would have been just as happy in a normal room. This room is phenomenal, but she's not ready to admit that to him or even herself that she loves it.
"Margaret, when was the last time you had a vacation?" Leo questions, trying to picture the look on her face.
"Leo, this is not a vacation. This is a legitimate TDY," she defends, as she rolls her eyes.
"I know that," he sighs. "I just meant that... well... you might as well be pampered while you're there," he explains.
"Leo, what's gotten into you?" She raises an eyebrow. Leo doesn't normally surprise her with things like this.
"Nothing's gotten into me. I just wanted you... I mean you deserve some... oh hell Margaret would you just enjoy it, please," he pleads in a tired voice, as he sits down in his chair.
"Okay, thanks," she relents, noting the weariness of his voice. She gets up off the bed and heads for the window. She peers out, "Wow," she gasps, looking down upon the Delta area.
"What?" Leo rubs his forehead and adjusts the phone from one ear to the other. He's more worn-out than he thought, and his hip has been bothering him all day. He should have just stayed home today, instead of coming in here and staring at Margaret's empty desk. He's not been sleeping very well lately, hell he hasn't been sleeping very well since last June. He's only been getting about three to four hours of sleep each night.
"The view here is... unbelievable. Leo, this place is gigantic. I've never seen anything like it before." Margaret turns away from the window and heads for the bathroom. She's hasn't fully explored the suite yet.
"I'm happy for ya," he breathes out into the phone. It's great just hearing her voice, even better now that she's excited about the suite.
"Oh Leo, there's a sunken tub in here and I swear you could get four people in it." She exclaims. "Oh, I can't wait to get in there," she says without thinking, and blushes after she realizes she just said that to Leo. She's glad that he can't see how red her face has turned.
Leo snorts a little into the phone line. He quickly tries to get the image of a naked Margaret in a sunken tub, out of his head, cause it's having a definite effect on a particular part of his lower body. Lately, he hasn't needed any help in that regard when it comes to thinking about Margaret.
Leo first started having feelings for her sometime after the kidnapping. Margaret has always been supportive, but during the kidnapping something changed between them. Leo can't put his finger on the exact moment that his fondness for Margaret had turned to love, but it's true. He's in love with his tall lanky red headed assistant, and he's not sure what to do about it.
Sometimes, he suspects that Margaret feels the same way and he's almost said something a couple of times, but he's always chickened out at the last minute or some major problem has caused him to place his feelings on the back burner. But lately, he's had lots of free time to consider his feelings for her and he thinks that maybe he should say something to her about it.
"Leo, you still there?" Margaret asks, after the prolonged silence on the other end of the phone.
"Yeah, sorry. I was umm... thinking." He admits, still trying to clear his mind of the image of a naked Margaret in a sunken tub.
"Leo, are you okay? You sound sorta... I don't know... different." Margaret walks out of the bathroom and sits back on her bed. She's worried about him. She really didn't want to go away, and now he sounds nervous, which is not like him. Something else, besides this thing with the President, is going on with Leo lately. If only she could figure out what it is.
"I'm fine, will you please stop worrying," he implores, leaning further back into his chair and rubbing his eyes.
"Like I could," she quickly smirks, as she raises an eyebrow at Leo's use of the word please. That's twice he's said it in this conversation. He normally just demands things of her and others. His politeness kicks her anxiety, about him, into high gear. She takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself. There's nothing she can do here, but when she gets back, Leo and she are going to sit down and have a long overdue talk.
"True... but try, will ya?" He rolls his eyes. Margaret's concern about him is legendry. He's not sure what he ever did to deserve her, but thank God he has her.
Margaret tries to distract herself by looking around the spacious hotel room. "Leo, this room is... I mean... I've never stayed in a room as nice as this. Thank-you so much, but you really shouldn't have," she smiles.
"You're welcome, and you deserve it, too." Leo's grin spreads across his face. He can almost imagine her sitting there in her lavish room. He knows that she will truly enjoy being pampered for a change, if she can just relax and accept this gift to her. She deserves it after all he's put her though these past fourteen years.
"Leo, you can be so sweet sometimes," she tells him, as she lies back onto the bed and stretches.
"Hey," Leo retorts with a slight laugh. "Don't say that too loud. I have a certain cantankerous image to maintain," he sarcastically says.
"Sorry," she giggles, bringing her hand to her mouth. "We wouldn't want the Republicans on the hill to find out. It would be the end to your career." That last comment was out of her mouth before she could stop it. 'Damnit,' she mutters under her breath.
"Well... it seems the end might be near anyway," he mumbles, scratching the spot behind his right ear that always bothers him when he's upset. "They might just get their wish yet."
"Leo, what's going on between you... and the President?" Margaret beseeches, as she sits up on the edge on the bed. She's heard some rumors about how the President has been treating him, and she knows that Leo hasn't been in down to the Situation Room since they got back from Camp David.
"Margaret," he growls. He's surprised it's taken her this long to ask him. "Not now. I... really don't," he pauses as he looks at his watch. "Hey, it's later than I had planned to stay here today. I really should get going cause I have some... things to do at home. Bye." He says, as he quickly hangs up the phone, not giving Margaret a chance to respond. He stands, grabs his bag and heads for his service car.
"Things to do at home," she mutters, staring at the cell phone in her hand. "You live in a damn hotel."
Margaret flips her cell phone shut, gets up off the bed and finishes her unpacking. She needs to do something to get her mind off Leo. She knows this is futile, because she hasn't been able to get her mind off him for years. She has always loved Leo, but for the past couple of years, she's been in love with him.
Margaret never allowed herself to feel this way before, while he was married and then after his divorce, she thought for the longest time that they would work things out and get back together. But, somewhere during the past couple of years, she wasn't able to keep her feelings in control and love crept into her heart. It's so true what they say, you can't fence time and you can't stop love.
Margaret wants to tell him, but it never seems like the timing is right, and she's pretty sure that he doesn't feel the same way. He still must be in love with his ex-wife, cause he still wears that ring. Margaret thought for sure that he would take it off when Jenny got remarried earlier this year, but no, it's still there. Margaret breathes a heavy sigh.
Margaret thinks back about their conversation. Leo sounded so different and what did he mean that the end of his career might be near. She thinks about the past few weeks, as she continues to unpack and organize her things. She's almost done, when the phone by her bed rings. She answers quickly it, hoping that it's Leo. But it's not. It's a friend she that she made at the FEW Conference in Chicago last year. They make arrangements to meet for an early breakfast.
On the ride home from the White House, Leo debates about taking tomorrow off, but he quickly decides against it. He's surprised that he misses Margaret already; she's only been gone for a day. Things have been changing between them for some time now. Recently, they've had a lot more time together and their conversations have turned decidedly more personal, especially since the President has shut him out. He wonders if Margaret has noticed the change, too.
When he gets into his hotel room, he decides to give Mallory a call, but she doesn't answer. He leaves a message asking her if she wants to go to dinner tonight. He goes to the small refrigerator in his hotel room, gets a bottle of water and then he logs on the Internet. He uses Google to find the URL for the hotel that Margaret is staying at. He tours the hotel via QuickTime and is pleasantly surprised at all it has to offer. He smiles when he discovers the suites and sees a picture of the sunken tub that Margaret was referring to.
After a half an hour or so of browsing the hotel, Leo logs off. Within seconds his hotel room phone rings. "Yeah, McGarry here," he answers, hoping that it's Margaret.
"Hey, Daddy," Mallory stiffly replies to her hard to reach father.
"Hey, Baby," Leo responds, noting the tension in her voice.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you every since you left the message." She informs him. "I was coming in the door when the phone rang, and my arms were full of packages."
"Been shopping have ya?" Leo smirks into the phone.
"Never mind that. I called the office and its shut down. Are you okay?" She worriedly asks.
"I'm fine. I don't spend everyday in the West Wing," he comments, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Since when?" His daughter smirks, as she sits down on the couch.
"Mallory," he growls.
"Daddy, I even called your cell phone, but it's turned off. Are you trying to hide from someone?"
"It is? I must have tuned it off after I got off the phone with Margaret," he tries to sound surprised. He knows he turned it off when he left the White House, but he's not going to tell her that. He doesn't need her asking questions about why he did that. He's shielded her from the fact that he and the President are having issues right now. He's doesn't need to have her worrying about him too. It's bad enough that Margaret knows what little bit about it that she does.
"I've been calling ya for a while at the hotel, but I kept getting a busy signal. Can you still make dinner or does the President need you back at the White House?" She hopes that he can still make dinner. She hasn't seen him that much lately and when she talked with Margaret the other day, she got the feeling that something was wrong.
"No, he doesn't... need me..." 'Anymore,' Leo adds under his breath. He hopes that the pain he's been feeling, doesn't show in his voice. "I was on the internet." Leo changes the subject quickly.
"The internet? Daddy I thought you hated the Internet," she laughs, picturing him cussing at his computer when it doesn't do what he wants it to.
"Well, that just goes to show ya that you don't know everything," he banters back, with a smile.
"Right... so can you still meet me for dinner or did you make a hot date at some chat room," she teases. She wishes her father would start dating again. His first attempt, with Jordan, didn't work out well and now she's afraid that he's given up entirely. She knows he's lonely and it breaks her heart to see him like that.
Leo smiles, "No, I can still meet ya. I'll come pick you up at six," he suggests, as he thinks to himself that the only hot date he wants to make is with Margaret and she's in Nashville and probably not interested anyway.
"Great, I love being chauffeured. I'll be ready at six," Mallory says, wondering if her father will ever wake up and see what's right in front of him. She has suspected for a while that Margaret was in love with her father, but every time she's tried to talk to Margaret about it, she has sidestepped the issue.
"Yeah, right," he smirks, shaking his head. He knows that he'll still have to wait for her. 'What is it about women never being ready,' he thinks to himself, 'well every woman except Margaret, he's never known her to be late or not ready when she says she will be.'
"Daddy," Mallory whines. "I'll be ready, I promise."
"Okay, see ya at six fifteen," he can't help but tease his daughter so more.
"Daddy, you're a funny man," she laughs into the phone. "Bye."
"Bye, Baby," he says, as he hangs up the phone. Leo smiles at the term funny man. That's twice he's been called that today, something else that the Republicans would have a field day with.
TBC in Part 2
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