Everyone Notices Part 5
See part 1 for details.
Part 5
Leo hovers for a few seconds, in the doorway, watching the scene in front of him. Margaret is reclining in her hospital bed, holding her newborn son and both of them are sound asleep. He quietly walks over to Margaret's bedside, stands there for a few minutes, watching them and wishing they both were his. He says a silent prayer, hoping that some day he will find a way to make them a family. He breathes a heavy sigh as he sits in the chair next to the bed, setting her overnight and gift bag down. After staring at them a little longer, he leans back in the chair, closes his tired eyes and falls asleep, too.
Within thirty minutes or so of Leo arriving, Tommy stirs in his mother's arms, causing Margaret to wake up. "Are you ready to try to eat again?" She asks her infant son. She's not had much success nursing him yet, but the nurses keep telling her that it takes time.
Margaret moves a pillow under her arm, positions Tommy, exposes one of her breasts and then brings his mouth to her nipple. She stimulates his mouth and her breast, like the nurses showed her. He lightly grabs a hold of her and moves his mouth a little. She stimulates his mouth more, and he actually starts to suck this time.
"There you go, Mama's so proud of you," she smiles in relief at her son as he suckles.
Leo wakes up to the pleasant sound of Margaret's voice cooing to her son. He rubs his eyes as he stands, "Hey there."
"Oh holy hell!" Margaret loudly screeches, as she jumps pulling Thomas from her breast.
"Oh Gawd, Margaret. I'm... I'm sorry," Leo eyes go wide at the sight of Margaret's exposed breast and his face turns crimson. He quickly turns away, offering his back to her.
Thomas starts to cry from being startled and separated from his feeding source. His voice is shrill and makes Margaret even more nervous to hear him scream like this. She tries to calm her young son. "It's okay, Tommy. Mama didn't mean to scare you," she soothes him as she desperately tries to get him to take her breast again. After a couple more attempts, Thomas finally settles down and starts to nurse again. Margaret breathes a sigh of relief.
"Margaret… I had no idea… I'm so sorry," Leo stutters, with his back still turned to her.
"Leo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I didn't realize you were here. You just scared me is all," she smiles at his back and notices that his ears are tinged with red. She finds his gentleman-like behavior endearing.
"I… I," Leo falters.
"Leo, it's okay to turn around. I really don't mind," she says, trying to make Leo more comfortable.
"Is Tommy still… umm… are you…" Leo fights to get the image of Margaret's breast out of his mind.
"Yes, he's still nursing, but my God Leo, you saw so much more last night, when you watched him being delivered," she softly shakes her head and chuckles. "But… if it really bothers you, I'll cover up with a blanket." Margaret offers. She's somewhat surprised that is doesn't bother her to have Leo see her like this.
"Nah… It doesn't to bother me, if it doesn't bother you," he lies, as he slowly turns around, still staring at the floor.
"This is the first time he's really nursed. I was starting to get worried about him," she looks down at her son and then back up to Leo.
"Well, that's good."
"Leo, look at me."
"Okay," Leo slowly brings his eyes to hers.
"The nurses said that it was normal and not to get concerned but…"
"You're still worried," he smiles, hoping that the redness had left his face. He doesn't let his eyes leave her face.
"Yeah, go figure," she laughs. "Leo," noticing that Leo is still uncomfortable. "Haven't you ever seen a baby nurse? Didn't Jenny nurse Mallory?"
"No, she… I don't think she tried or at least I don't remember her trying," Leo frowns. "I guess she already had enough to have to deal with…me and my… drinking. Or maybe I was so… drunk that I just don't remember." Leo eyes turn dark with sadness. He still feels terribly guilty about missing so much of Mallory's childhood.
"Leo, you don't know that for sure, do you?" Margaret says, without thinking. She's rarely this bold with him.
"I just assumed…"
"Leo, you need to stop blaming yourself for things. Not everything that Jenny did or didn't do was because of your drinking."
"Maybe, but…" Leo mumbles, not really believing it, as he lowers his eyes.
"You did the best you could under the circumstances. I know you still feel guilty about things, but Leo… Mallory loves you dearly. In spite of everything."
"I don't deserve her love or your… loyalty."
"Leo McGarry, just stop it. You don't deserve to stand there and have a pity party, either."
Leo's hazel eyes flash up at Margaret's. He's not used to her being this audacious with him. But then again, he has rarely shown her this side of himself, either.
"Leo, I'm sorry. I can't believe I just said that. I don't know what gotten into me. You've been so sweet to me and look how I repay you…" Margaret looks like she might cry.
"Margaret, please don't worry about it. You're… right. It's just that…" Leo eyes go back towards the floor.
"What Leo?"
Leo looks back at her, once again only looking at her face. "Let's just drop it, Okay?"
"Okay," she pauses. "Leo, if you want to watch Tommy nursing, it's okay. It's not a big deal. Anyway, all of the really important parts are covered. So, if you want to look, its fine," she reaches out, laying a hand on his.
"Are you sure?" Leo asks her. He is curious about it.
"Yeah," she gives him a soft smile.
Leo slowly lowers his eyes and watches his namesake work hard for his meal. "Is it okay if I touch him?"
"Yeah. Of course it is."
Leo reaches out and takes one of Tommy's hands, and plays with his little fingers. "He's so cute," Leo raises his eyes back up to Margaret. "He looks so much like you," Leo smiles.
"Really?"
"Yeah. He's definitely got your chin and cute nose."
Leo looks back at Tommy, opens up his soft blue blanket a little bit, so he can get a better look at him. His little skinny legs are moving. "He's an active little guy, isn't he?" Leo supposes.
"He seemed even more active before. I thought he was going to break my ribs," she explains.
"He was just in a hurry to meet his Mama," Leo smiles, as he covers him back up with the blanket.
"I think he's done," Margaret comments, after Tommy stops sucking.
"Oh, okay," Leo turns around, giving her some privacy.
"I don't think he got very much," Margaret sighs, as she adjusts herself and closes her gown.
"Okay, you can turn around now," she says, waiting for Leo to turn around, she notices something different about him. "Leo McGarry, are you wearing jeans?" Her eyes wonder up and down him.
"Yeah," he slightly blushes, noticing that Margaret appears to be checking him out.
"I can't remember the last time I saw you in jeans." She thinks he looks much younger in them.
"It was probably during the first campaign," Leo offers. The past few months, he's been wearing them around his apartment on the weekends. He's even started wearing sweat pants at night, after he gets home from work. Mallory got him a pair of navy blue Air Force ones that are his favorites.
"You should wear them more often. You look really good in them," she says, and then quickly blushes at her boldness. 'It must be a side effect of the drugs they've given me,' she thinks, as she quickly turns her attention back to Tommy. "Leo, do you want to hold him?"
"Yeah," Leo reaches out and slowly takes Tommy from his Mama's arms.
"Remember to support his head."
"Margaret you have met Mallory, right?" He rolls his eyes as he smirks. "I know how to hold an infant."
"Yes, but that was years ago…" She points out with a grin.
"Watch it," he smiles as he backs up, carefully sits down in the chair and studies Tommy. "He's so little. I don't remember Mallory being this small. How much did he weigh?"
"Five pounds eight ounces and he was nineteen inches long. The nurse told us last night. Don't you remember?" Margaret shakes her head.
"I know, but I guess… well I was…"
"Yeah, me too, but I cheated, 'cause it's listed on the nametag on the basinet," she laughs, pointing towards the other side of the room.
"Hey little man, your Mama thinks she funny," Leo grins, as he unwraps his blanket a little. Leo loves looking at his little hands and feet.
"Hey," Margaret laughingly protests.
"You're something else, you know that," Leo touches his little cheek and then plays with his uncovered hand.
"You are too, Leo," Margaret softly says, causing Leo to look over at her. "You have made this even more special by sharing it with me. Thanks again for last night and for the beautiful roses you sent today, too."
Leo gives her a sweet smile, "Oh… that reminds me, I brought you a bag full of some things you might need and…" he carefully shifts Tommy to one arm, bends over and retrieves the gift bag next to his chair. He stands, "This is from… Tommy and me. I know he's going to get lots of presents, and well… we didn't want ya to feel left out," he explains, as he hands her the bag.
Margaret peeks into the bag and immediately recognizes the gift box, "Leo, you shouldn't have," she lightly scolds, as she pulls out the velvet box.
"Open it," Leo positions Tommy so he can see what he got his mother. "Let's see what your Mama got." He whispers to Tommy and then places a gentle kiss on his forehead.
Margaret slides off the ribbon, flips open the box, "Oh my, Leo, it's… it's beautiful," her voice is full of emotion.
"Just like you," rolls out of Leo's mouth, and then he quickly blushes at his statement.
"Leo?"
"It's umm… Tommy's birthstone," Leo announces, trying to sidestep the slip of his tongue.
Margaret bobs her head as her eyes fill with unshed tears. She lovingly touches the necklace and then looks up at Leo, "Leo, I love it. Thank you," she finally manages to say, as her tears make their way down her face.
"Margaret, please don't cry." Leo grabs a tissue from the nightstand and gives it to her.
"I can't help it. You've been so sweet to me and... to Tommy." Margaret wipes her face.
Leo looks down at the baby in his arms, "Ya better go back to your Mama, she needs ya." Leo lifts Tommy to his face, gives him a kiss on the cheek and lays him in his mother's arms.
'I need you too,' are the thoughts running through her mind as she takes Tommy and tries to stop her tears.
"I see you have lots of admirers," Leo motions to the flowers in her room. He wonders if any of them are from the father.
"I guess," she sniffs, trying to stop her tears. She's just one big hormone right now. Everything gets to her.
"It's true, Margaret, you've gotten a lot more flowers than I did, when I was in the hospital," he smiles.
"That's not true," she shakes her head. "You got tons of flowers and from all over the world."
"I did?" He tilts his head in surprise. "I guess I must have been too out of it to remember them."
"Well, you couldn't have them in intensive care, so Mrs. Bartlett suggested we give them out to other patients on the regular wards who didn't have any." She explains, as she lowers her bed a little. Her back is bothering her a little.
"That was a better use for them anyway." Leo never has felt comfortable with things like that.
"The President and First Lady brought me those," Margaret points towards a big bouquet of red roses on the windowsill. "I was really surprised that they came to visit Tommy and me this morning. They were so sweet, and you should have seen the President holding Tommy."
"Margaret, you're part of their extended family," Leo smiles at the thought of Jed holding Tommy.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Didn't you realize that?"
"No, I'm just your… I mean I'm just an assistant in the White House…"
"Margaret, you're much more than that. You were there years ago for me and Abbey and Jed both know that and appreciate all you did for me."
"But…" Margaret doesn't get a chance to finish.
"Plus, you were there from the beginning of the campaigning and worked harder than most to help get Jed elected, both times."
Margaret is surprised to hear Leo refer to the President by his first name, but doesn't say anything to him. "Leo, no one worked as hard as you."
"We're not talking about me, we're talking about you and your importance to the first family. They love you Margaret." Leo wants to add that he loves her too, but he doesn't.
"And I love them, I just didn't… realize that they felt that way about me."
"Margaret," Leo shakes his head at her. "You're part of their family, just like me."
"Well, I don't think I have the same standing as you. I'm more like a second cousin, twice removed," she laughs, trying to hide that fact that she would like to be part of Leo's family.
"Whatever," Leo tosses out as he starts to wander around the room, gazing at the flowers and looking to see who sent them. His heart skips a beat, and he clenches his hands, when he finds a card with Bruno's name on it. 'If I find out that he's the father, I'm gonna kick his ass for not being here,' Leo thinks to himself.
Margaret notices a change in Leo's demeanor, when he sees the flowers from Bruno. She can't help but wonder why. She always thought that Leo liked Bruno, but he started acting differently after she had gone out with Bruno a few times. "Did you get the crib delivered?" She asks, attempting to stop trying to figure out the man in front of her.
"Yeah."
"Did you have any trouble setting it up?"
"Nope," Leo smiles, then walks back over to her bedside and sits down in the chair. "It went together very quickly."
"You paid the deliverymen to do it, didn't you?" She accuses.
"Yeah," Leo shyly admits.
"I knew it," she laughs.
"Hey, I could have done it if I had time," he argues. "But I had other pressing matters to attend to."
"Yeah, I bet."
"I did," he laughs, "I had to buy someone a necklace."
Margaret looks down at her son, "See, I told you that your Uncle Leo spends his money unwisely," she teases.
"Hey," he starts to defend himself, but realizes that Margaret referred to him to Tommy as his Uncle. "Uncle Leo?"
"Is that okay with you?"
"Yeah, that's… fine," he tries desperately to keep the sadness from his voice. He really wishes Tommy could call him daddy. "It would be my privilege to be his honorary Uncle," he smiles.
Margaret thinks she sees sadness or something like it flash in Leo's eyes and can't help but wonder what's going on with him. He's been so different with her since Tommy was born. Maybe even before that, now that she thinks back on these past few months.
"Leo, I'm worried about you," Margaret slightly frowns.
"You're worried about me?" Leo shakes his head. He can't believe her. Here she is a single mother, who doesn't make a lot of money, lives by herself, with no family close by to help her and yet, she's still worried about him.
"Yes, I am. You don't seem… I mean, since your…" Margaret hesitates, not sure how put her concern in words.
"Margaret, I'm fine. The doctor says..." Leo motions to his chest as his stands, to be closer to her.
"No, Leo, I'm not talking about your… heart, although I do worry about that, too," she admits.
"I just bet you do. You worry if the sun will shine tomorrow," he teases.
"Leo, you're not funny," she lightly scolds.
"Okay, so you've said before," he softly laughs, as he starts to play with Tommy's fingers.
"Leo," Margaret abruptly stops, losing her train of thought, when she sees the ring on his finger as he touches her son. She turns her eyes up to Leo.
"Yeah," he replies, as he moves his hand to stroke Tommy's cheek and gazes into Margaret eyes.
"Umm… the doctor says that the earliest that Tommy and I can go home is Saturday afternoon."
"Why?" Leo gets a concerned look on his face. He thought that she would get to come home on Friday.
"Well, he wants to wait to make sure I'm strong enough, since I live alone." She explains.
"Yeah," Leo tries hard not to frown. He mentally kicks himself, because he hadn't really thought about how hard it would be for her the first couple of nights at home.
"But, I'm sure I'll be fine," she tells him, not sure if she is trying to convince him or herself.
"Margaret… I… could stay with ya a couple of nights, so that…"
"Leo, I couldn't ask you to do that."
"You didn't ask, I offered. Please let me help you. You've done so much for me over the years," he pleads.
"I don't know."
"Ya know, I do know how to cook and I'm not totally inept with babies," he points out with a smile. "It's been a while, but I think… I still remember how to change a diaper."
"You used to change Mallory's diaper?"
"Yeah, I did have some lucid moments during her childhood, ya know," he says halfway teasingly.
"Leo, that's not what I meant. I didn't mean…"
"Margaret, I know that."
"It's just that I find it hard to envision you changing a diaper," she smirks.
"Do I have to audition for ya?"
"Well, Tommy could use a diaper change," she laughs.
"Give him here," Leo accepts her challenge and holds out his hands.
"The diapers and wipes are over there," she points towards the basinet on wheels and starts to get out of bed.
"Hey, stay put," Leo orders, with a smile. "The reason I'm changing the diaper is so that you can rest and don't have to get up outta bed."
"I was just going to help, if you needed it," she explains.
"We'll be fine. Won't we Tommy?" Leo coos to the baby in his arms. "Tell your Mama you're in good hands. Uncle Leo knows how to change a diaper, doesn't he?"
Leo lays Tommy down, gets a diaper, wipes, and proceeds to change his diaper. He only has to refasten the diaper twice, to get it to fit. "There ya go, little man. Let's have Mama inspect my work," Leo gives Margaret a big grin, as he hands Tommy back to her.
Margaret is surprised that Leo was able to change his diaper so quickly and get the new one to fit so well. Truth be told, he did a better job than her first couple attempts with Tommy, but she's not about to tell Leo that. "Okay, you're hired, you can stay for the first couple of nights. But, all I have is a sofa for you to sleep on; it's only a one bedroom apartment."
"That will be fine. I'm sure I've slept on worse, especially that lumpy old sofa in my old office."
"Well, you spent way too many nights on that sofa," Margaret scolds.
"Probably," Leo agrees. "So, what time do you need me to pick ya up on Saturday?" Leo asks, derailing her from her favorite lecture. He doesn't want to rehash all his bad habits that lead to his heart attack.
"The doctor said early afternoon, would be the soonest and since I won't be going home alone, I'm sure he'll release me by then."
"I won't come by to visit on Saturday morning, since I'm staying over that night," he explains. Leo's heart beats a little faster when he says staying over. "But, I'll be by tomorrow. If that's okay with you?"
"That's fine," she smiles. "Leo, it's getting late. You don't have to stay, if you don't want to," she hopes he doesn't take her up on her offer for him to leave.
"I don't mind staying, if you don't mind the company," he softly admits.
"We'd love it," she smiles. "Wouldn't we Tommy?" She looks down at her son.
They spend the next few hours occasionally talking about work, the campaigns, but mostly taking turns holding Tommy and enjoying him. Margaret attempts to feed Tommy a couple more times, but doesn't have too much luck. Margaret is still nervous about him not eating, but the nurse tries to calm her fears. She brings in a bottle of water for Tommy, and Leo gives it to him while Margaret takes a nice relaxing shower.
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Leo looks at the clock on the wall and yawns, "I probably should go, it's almost nine," Leo says, but his heart is not with him. He stands up, stretches, and moves closer to the bed.
"Okay," Margaret frowns on the inside. Even though he's been here for hours, she doesn't want him to go.
"You be good for your Mama," Leo bends down and places a delicate kiss on Tommy's head. "I'll see you tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything for you or Tommy. I can stop by your apartment again or the store on my way here tomorrow," Leo lightly kisses Margaret's cheek and then heads for the door.
"Okay, I will. Thanks again Leo, I mean for everything. Night," Margaret says, as she brings up a hand to touch the spot that Leo just kissed.
"Night."
Leo walks out into the hallway and pauses. He really wishes he had the courage to go back into the room and tell Margaret how he feels, but he's scared that she doesn't feel the same way. He almost kissed Margaret on the lips, when he was telling her goodnight, but quickly decided against it. He breathes a disappointed sigh as he reluctantly heads for his car.
TBC in Part 6
Thank You! to all the wonderful people who have posted or sent me feedback. I'm sorry that I haven't had the time to individually respond to each one of them this time. I really do value your feedback and I love to hear what you think about my stories. Several people have even asked for things they would like to see in future fan fics. So if you have a request, please let me know. Just keep in mind, that I only write Leo centric fan fic. These past few days, I have been busy writing more for this story. Each time I think I'm done, I think of another scene to add. There is still much more to come (at least 6 more parts)!