Title: Dinner Meeting                                        Private Times Series 1/?
By: chipmunk

Pairing: Leo/Margaret

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: None

This is AU, doesn't matter the year or the situation.

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 that, '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: Margaret finally goes on a trip with Leo.

Note: Just the two of them!    Spin-off from Daylight Series.

*********************      

Leo walks briskly into the Oval Office. "Mr. President, you wanted to see me," Leo asks, as he stops in front of the desk, waiting for the President to finish what he's reading and respond to his question.

"Yeah, Leo, I talked to the head of the 'Pep Boys in Detroit' and they're not too happy with us, right now.  I've come to the conclusion; that you probably need to be the one to meet with them.  I know that you were going to send Josh to talk with them about the fuel immersions bill." 

"Sir, Josh was going to meet with them on the quiet, Thursday night at a dinner meeting.  I'll have to juggle a few things, but I can do it.  Josh could take a few of my meetings.  Margaret will give him the files on what he needs to cover.  I'll fly up Thursday afternoon, meet with them for dinner and fly back on Friday morning.  When I arrive back, I'll meet with you and Josh, to let you know what took place." Leo plans out loud.

"Ok, fine, you set up the arrangements.  Talk to Josh and let him know the change in plans." 

"I'll have Margaret to return a call to the 'Pep Boys' and let them know that I will be meeting with them.  She'll be able to book my flights and lodgings," Leo informs the President that his office, Margaret, will take care of the details.

"Leo, about Margaret, you better take her with you.  She can sit in on the meeting and take notes, the meeting might get a little tense and I don't want them to try and slip anything in on us.  She never gets to go on trips, like Donna or Charlie.  She'll get out of DC and have a nice dinner.  She'll like it," the President is pleased with his additional plan.

"I'm sure, Mr. President, but she's not going to be happy," Leo sighs and sounds a little unhappy now.

"Oh, how's that," the President doesn't see the problem.  He's looking with great attention at Leo.

"It seems, Sir, the only time she goes out of town with me, it's to a cold climate.  You just want me to suffer, right?" Leo's looking at the grin on the Presidents face. "Thanks a lot!" 

"Anytime, Leo, anytime," the President's smiling now.  He's happiest when he knows he's getting Leo into trouble, just like when they were boys together.

"Thank you, Mr. President," Leo ends the conversation, knowing that he just lost that decision, to the great 'pleasure of the President'.  He leaves the Oval Office, by way of the door to the Presidents outer office, to inform Josh about the change in plans.  ~I'll call Margaret from Josh's office and have her bring over the files that Josh will need.  She can return to book the flights, while I update Josh.  Best of all, she'd be calmer about accompanying me to Detroit; by the time I get back to my office.  I'll tell her it's the President's idea, when she gets to Josh's office.  She won't get mad at the President.~

*******

It's now, early evening Thursday, in the Detroit hotel.  Leo's standing in the middle of his room debating,  ~Well, at least she wasn't upset about coming to Detroit.  Which might or might not be a good thing.  Either, she's pleased that the President's considerate in suggesting she accompany me on this trip, or in the future, she has something she's going to use this against me for.  Margaret never forgets anything.  I'm ready to go to the dinner early and I'm just pacing the floor.  I'll go see how soon Margaret will be ready to go down.~  He grabs a few files that he wants Margaret to take in her tote bag to the meeting.  Closing the door to his room behind him, he walks down the hall to Margaret's room.  Checking his watch outside her door,  ~She might still be dressing; we've almost an hour till we're due to meet them and we never go down to the bar before dinner. Margaret wouldn't hear of it.~  He knocks on her door and announces himself, so she'll know it's safe to open the door.  "Margaret, it's me, Leo." 

"Coming, Leo, just a minute," she acknowledges his knock. He can hear her approaching the door, by the sound of her voice coming closer.

"I'm ready early.  Are you getting ready? Are you decent," he asks though the door. Leaning forward to hear her answer.

"Mostly, Leo.  Are you alone," she asks from her side of the door, before opening it.

"Yes.  I was just pacing the floor in my room," he explains why he's there.

She unlocks the door and opens it, while still standing behind it.  After he's inside, she shuts the door and Leo finds out why she asked if he's alone.  She's dressed in just her slacks and bra, obviously still getting ready.

"Now, I know why you asked if I was alone," he states while grinning.  ~Good thing she asked, if the Pep Boys were with me, she would've had a heart attack.~

"Leo, quit grinning. I know you're not surprised or impressed," she flips him a smart answer.  ~Act casual.  Maybe I should've grabbed my blouse.  I know I going to blush, but he 'has' seen my bra before.  He's a big boy. I mean Man.~

"Not too shy there, are you, Margaret," he teases her.  ~I can't resist smarting back to her.  She's not too hard on the eyes either.  You won't hear me complaining.~

"Nothing new to you, Leo.  You turn up at all hours at my apartment and find me half dress or you run around half dressed there yourself," she answered back, with something he couldn't deny. "So, you're not too shy yourself."

She starts for the bathroom to finish her makeup and hair, as she passes the bed she pulls out a pillow. "We still have almost an hour till we're due downstairs and I'll be a little more than thirty minutes to finish dressing.  Your hyper pacing tells me you are running on overdrive.  If I know you, you've been up since before dawn.  Here," she throws the pillow in the middle of the far side of the bed.  "You stretch out and take a power nap."

"OK, maybe I'm a little tired," he admits.  "I had a short night and I didn't get any sleep on the flight."

She watches as he stretches face down across the bed, with his shoes still hanging over.  She's satisfied that he's at least resting and goes in to finish getting ready.  More than half an hour later, she emerges and rubs Leo on the calf of his pants to wake him.

"Leo, I'm done in the bathroom," she lets him know she's close to finished getting ready.

"I'm awake," he says as he sits up and looks around amazed that he was actually asleep.

"You better go in and freshen up," she firmly suggests.

He rubs a hand down his tie.  "Ok, I'll just be a minute."

Margaret goes to her carry-on case and retrieves her jewelry and then grabs her shoes from the suitcase.   She sits down at the small table in the room, to put on the shoes and has just finished putting on her earrings, when Leo comes back onto the room.  She's having trouble with the necklace, due to her hair in the way.  ~I'll never get this necklace fastened, at this rate, it has such a small clasp that it's hard to get closed, with my fingernails.~

Leo sees her problem, "Here, turn in the chair and let me help!  Hold your hair up out of the way for me," he suggests.  He has little trouble, since he can see what he's doing.  "Hold still a second, your blouse needs to be fastened," he warns as he quickly helps by buttoning closed the loop at the back of her neck.  To cover that he might have over stepped a personal boundary, he switches the topic, "I'd better check that I have my cell phone and door card with me."  Taking the cell phone from his pocket, he opens it and remarks, "Well, good thing I checked.  My cell phone was off.  I had it turned off when I was quick charging it in my room."  His cell phone rings while he's helping Margaret into her suit jacket.

Margaret heads back to the mirror to recheck her hair, since they're ready to leave.

********

"McGarry," he crisply answers.

"You're at the meeting already," the President asks abruptly.

"Not yet Sir, we're just about to leave to go downstairs," Leo answers to updates him that everything is on schedule.

"Where have you been Leo? I've been trying to reach you for almost an hour.  Your cell phone wasn't working.  I've even had the desk to ring your room," the President isn't pleased that Leo has been out of contact, with a tone in he voice, that this just isn't done.

"I'm in Margaret's room.  My cell phone was off from charging it," he simply explains.

"So, what were you doing in Margaret's room, for almost an hour," the President asks with lighthearted curiosity, changing his tone immediately.  Leo could tell the President was grinning from that tone in his voice.

"Sir, don't go there," Leo has a warning in his voice, which the President should be able to understand from the years of knowing each other.

"What are best friends for anyway," the President questions, with a smirk this time.

"I just did 'nothing', Sir," trying to cut short where the President was heading with this inquisition.

"You never do 'nothing'," he stating with a voice, which is a reminder to Leo, that he's the President.

Leo sighs and drops his head to look at the floor, "OK, if you must know, I stretched out across the bed and napped while she got ready," Leo knows that the President's going to run with that bit of information.

"I've a question for you Leo.  When did you two get married and not invite me to the wedding?  I'm serious.  I'm your best friend, after all," Jed, his friend, is now roasting him.

Leo can just see him with his hand spread wide across his chest, wearing an innocent and sincere look on his face. "I don't know sir.  I haven't figured that out myself, yet." With confidence between best friends, Leo confesses his mutual confusion and adds to himself, ~If he only knew, that she let me in the room and she was only half dressed, I'd never hear the end of it.~  "Sir, she bosses me, just like Abby bosses you," Leo's trying to turn the table on Jed.

"And you let her, like I do Abby," Jed admits this weakness to Leo.

"Yes sir," Leo also admits, with a soft smile.

"You two are like an old married couple.  You just forgot to do the ceremony," Jed's now stating his personal observation of their situation.

"Yeah, and no sex either," Leo sighs, as he reminds his friend.

"Poor Leo, you always were slow when it came to girls," Jed's now enjoying Leo's discomfort in this conversation.

Leo, trying not to be too sarcastic replies, "Thank you, Mr. President. That was kind of you.  Might I remind you sir, we're not seventeen anymore," trying with little hope, to get the President to cease.  "Sir, we need to leave for the meeting now," Leo was definitely wanting to end this conversation; he was coming out at the bad end of it.

"See you tomorrow, Leo," the President's still chuckling as he disconnects the call.

******

Margaret grabs the files Leo brought and puts them in her tote bag, with her note pad.  She follows Leo out of the room and checks that the door is locked, while Leo is pushing the button for the elevator.  After the nice dinner and a most productive meeting, Leo escorts Margaret back to her door.  Once outside her door, Leo's just looking at the floor while Margaret swipes her door card.  Just as she starts to open the door, he glances at her and speaks up, "Margaret, we really need to review your notes and get them organized with the files, tonight.  When we get the White House tomorrow, you could type them up straight away." He continues with another reason, "tomorrow is Friday and I'll need to go straight to the President with them.  We may have to make some decisions, about the bill, before CJ calls a lid for the weekend."  Leo says all this, sounding like he's trying to convince her.  ~We could do the work now and I could spend more time with Margaret.  I don't want to be setting alone, as usual, in a hotel room for the rest of the evening.~

"Sure, of course," she readily agrees.  Leo follows her into the room and she lays the files out of her bag onto the small table.

"First, let me call the President, to tell him that the meeting went well and we're organizing the information.  He did want to know tonight.  I'll tell him we'll have the information ready for him shortly after we arrive," he's confirming this to her.

OK," she's agreeable to his plan.   She removes her jacket and walks over to put her jewelry away in her bag.  She then removes her shoes and wiggles her toes in the soft carpeting. Leo watches her while he's talking to the President and he smiles at Margaret's simple pleasure.  Leo ends his short call and sits at the table with the files, ready to start.

Margaret pipes up, when she sees he's already opening the first file, "Before we start, answer me a question.

"What is it, Margaret," he asks without looking up.

"We 'are' going to be half the night at this," she asks, knowing his answer, but wanting it confirmed.

"What do you think," he asks the question right back at her.

"Then I want to be comfortable in my pajamas, it's not like any of the other staff is on this trip and will knock at the door," she rationalizes to Leo.

"Why, I'm still wearing my suit," he teases her.

"You could change," she suggests.

"I'm not going to my room to change and then walk back down the hall in my sweats," he refuses.

"Did you unpack your bags earlier, in your room," she digs for information.

"What do you think," he repeats his answer, just like before.

"Leo, give me your door card," she demands and holding out one hand, as she slips her shoes back on.

"Why, you're not hiding in my room.  We've work to do tonight," he states, like she's forgotten already.

"I know.  I know.  You would just hunt and find me," she sarcastically replies, she then playfully sticks out her tongue at him.

~She better keep her tongue to herself, unless she's prepared to use it.  With me hopefully.~  He stands up and retrieves his card, then hands it over. She heads quickly out the door.  He just shakes his head as the door shuts behind her.  Leo removes his suit coat, hangs it on the back of the chair, before he sits again and continues with the files.  ~I don't think I 'even' want to know what she's up to.  She gets a little 'kooky' at night when she's tired and it's been a long day.  The night's work, for us, is just beginning."~  

Margaret's quickly up the hall and swipes his card to enter his room.  She finds his suitcase is opened on the bed and his briefcase is on the table.  She sticks her head in the bathroom and grabs his kit bag, which she places back into his suitcase, closing it.  She has a plan.  She grabs the case and snags the brief case on the way out the door.

Back at her room, she bangs on the door with her hand that's holding the briefcase.  "Leo, open the door," she requests help.

"Margaret, what are you doing and why do you have my bags," he sounds a little bewildered, as he's taking the briefcase from her.  She sets his suitcase on the end of her bed and opens it.  Ignoring his questions.  "Margaret, why are you digging in my private suitcase? My unmentionables are in there," he tries to sound indignant, but he's grinning now and looking very interested in what she's doing. The files are forgotten for the moment.

"You mean these lovely dark green, silk boxers," she asks, as she holds them out on the tip of her finger, while she's still digging in his case with the other hand.  ~How does he like it when the shoe's on the other foot?~  "Ah ha," she exclaims.

"Ah ha, what," he asks with a worried tone.  

She pulls out a pair of navy sweatpants.  She holds them up in front of her.  She reads, out loud to him, the logo on the front "U S Navy and it even has a jet under it.  Once a flyboy, always a flyboy," she inquires with a smirk and wiggles her eyebrows at him.

"Woman," he roars.  "Why do you have my sweatpants out?  This is not a fashion show," he declares.

"Because, Leo, I'm going to change and so are you," she explains booking no opposition.

"Here, Margaret?  In your hotel room," he asks, in a loud whisper, like she has a screw loose.

"Yes, here.  You do at the apartment," she points out.

He tries to find a flaw in her plan and can't find one, "OK."  He grabs the sweats from her. "Go change, Margaret.  I'll change out here," he agrees, wanting to get her to hurry up so that they can get to work.  ~You know, Jed, just might be right. We do act married at times.~

She smiles since she's getting her way and grabs her pajamas from her case, which is setting on the floor and heads to the bathroom to change.  She comes back in to find, he's already changed and working at the table.  His suitcase is on the floor next to hers, out of the way.  She grabs her notepad and sits in the middle of the bed. 

Leo glances over at her and notices that she's wearing a navy silk tank top and matching silk, long pants as pajamas. He also notices she's quite comfortable with her legs crossed under her.  Her hair's falling forward and is shadowing most of her face, from the light of the small room lamps.  She's already intent on work.  "Are you comfortable there, Margaret," he asks, being smart with her.

She pops her head up and looks at him smiling, "Perfectly.  This is much better than working late at the office," she sounds delighted as she wiggles her toes.

He notices her bare feet. "You are incorrigible," he states.

"I know," she gives him a big grin.

He grins in return and reaches down and removes his socks.  He tosses them at his suitcase. ~It may be cold in Detroit, but it is warm in this hotel room.  In more ways than one.~

They work late into the night, while the meeting is still fresh in their heads.  At 2am, they finally close the last file folder.

"We're done, Margaret," he sounds relieved and tired.  ~Good thing she insisted I take a nap or I'd have been up almost 24 hours, by now.~  Margaret has moved to the head of the bed and is propped up on the pillows.  She's rewriting the notes by the night table lamp.  Leo continues, "I better get my stuff back to my room.  I'm still going to be walking the hall in my sweats," he finds and points out the flaw in her plan.

"Leo, we need to get up in four hours.  Just stay here," she calmly suggests, not looking at him and trying not to blush.

Leo just looks at her a moment. ~ Jed was 'so' right,~ Leo agrees to himself, as he touches his left thumb across his palm, to his wedding ring.  ~Feels married to me.~

He watches her get out of the bed. "Margaret, there's just one bed.  You were being frugal again, when you booked our rooms.  You didn't book us rooms with two double beds," he's pointing out another flaw he found in her plan.  Margaret's turning down the bedspread, while he's explaining this to her. 

"I trust you.  We can cuddle for the rest of the night," she softly replies.  She knows his weak spot.  "It's only for the four hours and I set the alarm clock," she adds.

Leo grins and agrees, "You twisted my arm."

"Wasn't hard," she boasts as she gets in on the other side of the bed.

"You know me too well," he moves to the near side and tosses a pillow to her, from where she had them stacked behind her to work.

He remarks a little grumpy like, "Do we have to use the blanket and a sheet.  It's a little warm tonight in the hotel."

"Leo, you know I'm never warm," she states with a tired and pleading voice.

"OK, fine, we'll leave the blanket," he gives in to her unspoken request.  He turns off the lamp on his side of the bed.  He turns to sit on the side of the bed and slips out of his sweats.  She gets a glimpse of the back of his boxers, by the light from her bedside lamp.

"I really like your navy silk boxers too, Leo," she teases him as she climbs into the bed, but her face is turning red, in spike of her flippant remark.

"Good, our sleepwear matches," he remarks, as he turns and slips his legs into the bed.  He turns while he reaches over for her and pulls her close.

Margaret now remarks, being a little silly, this late at night.  "No one at the White House would suspect your soft side.  They just see your gruff side."

"That's to scare and keep the 'kids' in line," he explains his leadership theory.

With a sleepy voice she agrees, "Yeah, they're your 'lost boys', so that makes you Peter Pan.  You 'can' fly," she reminds him, adding to the silliness.

He chuckles and remembers her 'flyboy' remark from earlier in the evening.

"So, then, you're my Tinkerbell," he adds softly.

They both have the same thought ~Tinkerbell always loved Peter Pan.~

He pulls her tighter and quotes softly in her ear, "First star on the right and straight on till morning."

They both smile at the sentiment and fall asleep in each other's arms.

The End

4th May 2003

Betty Lou Riley

riley2@bright.net