Everyone Notices Part 12
See part 1 for details.
Part 12
"Leo, you're home sooner than you thought you'd be," Margaret calls from the couch in the living room.
"Yeah." Leo walks over, gives her a kiss and sits down next to her. "Did Tommy fall asleep on the ride home?"
"Yeah, you and the President wore him out today," she smiles.
"Margaret… I..ah.."
"Yeah." Margaret gives him a puzzled look.
"I need to tell ya something." He almost whispers.
"Okay," she replies, suddenly a little scared by Leo's tone.
"There's gonna be some… trouble, a story in the Post, probably early next week, CJ thinks. But, it might even break this weekend."
"An article? About you?"
"Yeah, but it's also about you and Tommy," Leo takes a deep breath. "Apparently, someone's been following me and… well the article implies that I'm Tommy's father. They make it sound like we've been having a torrid affair, and they even speculate that you are the reason that Jenny divorced me."
"But, that's not true. How can they say that? They just want to drag your name in the mud. Leo what are we going to do? They can't just print whatever they want, can they?"
"No, they can't but…they can insinuate and make it sound more like questions than accusations."
"That doesn't seem right. They just want to…"
"Margaret, I know and well… I have to say I was upset at first about this article, not that I mind being referred to as Tommy's father." Leo takes her hand. "I just don't want to see you hurt. I was talking when CJ when I figured out what to do. It's perfect."
"What's perfect?"
"Margaret… will you marry me?"
"Oh Leo, I… I…" she stops, pulls her hand from his and gets up from the couch and starts to pace.
"Margaret?"
"Leo," she stops pacing and looks at him. "I would love nothing more than to marry you but… there's some things I never told you and…"
"Tommy's father?" Leo guesses, as he stands.
Margaret bobs her head.
"I wish what they say about us in the article were true," Leo sighs heavily, as he moves to Margaret's side and takes her in his arms. "Then I would have married you months ago. I don't care who Tommy's father is, 'cause as far as I'm concerned… I'm his father."
"Oh Leo, I feel the same way, too. You don't know how many times I've wished he was yours."
"Great, then it's settled. We'll get married and add me to the birth certificate as Tommy father."
"Leo." A sad looking Margaret pulls back from his arms. Oh how she wishes it were that easy to erase Tommy's real father and the circumstances of his conception. "I need to tell you about his… his… father and what happened."
"Margaret, it doesn't matter to me. I don't…"
"Leo, please," she interrupts.
"Okay," Leo relents, after seeing the pain in her eyes and then says the only reason that he thinks might be why she's so upset. "Is he… married?"
"Leo, I would never..." She lowers her head realizing that she doesn't even now know if he's married. She's not sure about anything about him.
"I'm sorry Margaret. I didn't think you could or would, but you seem so upset and…" Leo moves towards her, but Margaret backs away.
"Leo, don't," she holds a hand up at him to ward him off. "To tell you the truth, I don't even know if he's married or not," she finally whispers and hangs her head in shame.
"What do you mean you don't know? Who is this guy? How did ya meet him? You must know something about him."
"I... don't know anything about him," she shakes her head. "I don't even know his real name."
"Margaret, you... how... I mean..." Leo stutters, not knowing what to say.
"Oh Leo, I was so stupid," Margaret starts to cry.
"Margaret, please tell me what happened?" He says softly as he takes her hand in his and leads her over to the couch.
"I had gone to your hotel to... to…"
"Margaret, it's okay. You can tell me anything and it's not going to change how I feel about you," Leo says as he brings her hand up to his mouth and places a gentle kiss on it.
"It was the second night after your heart attack. You had finally woken up, but the doctors still weren't sure if..." Margaret stops and shudders at the awful memory of that night. They had waited for hours for Leo's heart to start working on it's own without the aid of the machines.
"Margaret, it's okay. Go on, if you want, but you don't have to," he says in a comforting voice, as he reaches over and places a strand of her red hair behind her ear.
"They still weren't sure if you were going to make it and… I guess I had to feel like I was doing something useful, so I decided to go to your hotel and maybe... I don't know..."
"You're doing fine, Sweetie," he reassures her.
"I wanted to bring you some of your own things, it seems so stupid now, but…" Margaret pauses as she remembers the long cab ride to Leo's hotel that night. She was sure that Leo would die before she got back to him. She's still not sure what possessed her to leave the hospital that fateful night.
"Margaret, it wasn't stupid. You were scared. I know you. You have always put my comfort first."
"When I got to your hotel, the lobby was full of conventioneers. I started for the elevators, but someone bumped into me. He..." Margaret takes a deep breath. "He was wearing the same cologne that you do and he..."
"He what?"
"He sorta reminded me of you, too," she shyly admits. "Well, he quickly apologized and asked me if I wanted a drink. I..."
"Margaret, it's okay, you don't have to say anything else. I think I know what happened."
"No Leo, I have to," she demands in an upset voice. "I accepted his offer, and we went to the bar. He was quite charming, and I had another drink with him. We sat and talked and after a while I needed to go to the ladies room. When I got back, he had another drink waiting for me and I drank it. We talked some more but then, it was all a blur. I kinda remember walking towards the elevators… and the next thing I know… I was waking up in... your hotel room… realizing that... he had…"
"Oh Margaret. He... he... raped you?"
"Yeah, I guess," she lowers her eyes, not wanted to see the shame in Leo's eyes. "I really don't remember much about it except for a couple of flashes."
"That son of a bitch," Leo jumps up from the couch and stares back down at her. "Are you sure you don't remember anything about that bastard? Anything that he might have said, like where he's from or who he works for." Leo wants to get his hands on him and beat him within an inch of his slimy life.
"No, Leo, I don't," Margaret starts to cry.
"Oh Sweetie, I'm sorry," he sits back down beside her. "I'm sorry. I wasn't yelling at you. I just want to get my hands on him and…"
"Leo, please calm down. I don't want you to have another…"
"Margaret, I'm not going to have another heart attack. I promise."
"You can't promise me that."
"Yeah, but lets get back to… well… Margaret, did… did he hurt you?" He takes a hold of one of her hands.
"No," she whispers.
"How did you wake up in my hotel room?"
"He must have found your card key in my purse and he... oh Leo, I'm so sorry," she sobs.
"Margaret," he says, letting go of her hand and then taking her face in his hands. "What do you have to be sorry about?"
"It happened in your room… on your bed, and I think I even imagined it was..." Margaret starts to sob again.
"Imagined it was me?" Leo guesses.
"Yes, oh God Leo I'm so..."
"Shh... don't Sweetie," he puts a fingertip to her lips.
"I... I was so lonely and I was so afraid you were going to die and I was never going to get to hear you yell my name again and..."
"Margaret, he must have used a date rape drug on you. I know you. I know that you wouldn't have just slept with any man you just met, no matter the circumstances. Even with a couple of drinks, that's just not you."
"But, I had at least three maybe four drinks, so…"
"Margaret, I've heard about some of your escapades on the campaigns trail, Josh said that you can hold your own, even with Toby."
"Leo, I don't want you to think… well, I rarely drink and…"
"Margaret, I'm not worried about your drinking."
"Okay."
"So, did you go to the police?"
"No, it never even dawned on me, until it was too late. At first, I just blamed it on drinking too much and being upset, but after talking to Donna, she's the one who figured it out. I swore her to secrecy and went to the doctor to be tested for diseases and that's when I found out I was pregnant. I knew I had missed my… period, but I just thought it was because of stress of everything going on with you and…."
"Margaret, none of what you just told me, changes the way I feel about you. I love you, and I love Tommy. So," Leo drops to one knee, next to the couch and takes her hand. "Once again… Will ya please marry me and let me take care of you and Tommy and let me raise him as my son?"
"Yes, Leo, I'll marry you."
"Yeah." He grins.
"Oh yeah. I'd love to be your wife." She says as she leans in to give him the soft, delicate kiss.
"Okay, well we need to…" Leo is interrupted by the hungry cries of Tommy.
"Sorry, can we finish this up in a bit?"
"Yeah."
Margaret gets up and heads for the bedroom. Leo gets up off his knee and goes to the kitchen to get Tommy's bottle ready.
"I'll feed him," Leo calls to her.
"Okay."
Leo walks back into the living room and sits down on the couch.
"Tommy, look what your Daddy has for you," she smiles as she places Tommy in Leo's arms.
"Hey, there little man," Leo manages to choke out. "Daddy's got ya." He smiles up at Margaret with tears in his eyes after hearing her call him Daddy to his son for the first time.
Margaret sits down next to them and leans against Leo. "So, when are we getting married?"
"This Sunday."
"What? Leo there's no way that…"
"Margaret, I've thought this all through. I'll tell ya all about it after Tommy's done eating."
"But, Leo…I don't want to marry you until I can… make love to you."
"When will that be," his voice cracks and his face turns slightly red.
"At least another two weeks. That's when I'm supposed to have my check up with my OB."
"I still say we go ahead and get married this Sunday. I don't want to go any longer without you being my wife. Besides, I can wait to…"
"Yeah, right." She laughs. "You're been about ready to burst for weeks now," she reminds him.
"Hey, can I help it if you're so desirable, and it didn't exactly help my situation with you showing me your breasts all the time," he smiles.
"Hey, I was trying to…"
"Seduce me?" Leo laughs.
"Well, it appears to have worked," she laughs.
"Yeah, it did. I love you Margaret."
"I love you too."
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"Leo, I need to go shopping for a wedding dress. Can you watch Tommy tomorrow morning?" Margaret walks into the living room after just putting their son down for the evening.
"Sure, I can do that."
"So, what are you going to wear for our wedding?" She asks as sits down next to him on the couch.
"What suit do you want me to wear?" Leo asks with a grin. He knows her far too well. He's sure that she already has his suit picked out for him.
"Well… I've always loved your dark blue double-breasted pinstripe one," she smiles.
"Ah… that's one of my favorites, too. We just need to pick it up at the cleaners tomorrow 'cause I had Eddie run me by my hotel before I came home. I picked up the suit, shirt and that tie you like so much, He smiles at her, as he sees her surprised look. He knows her better that she thought.
"Great. I'm trying to decide what color dress I'm going to get."
"You look good in anything and everything… or nothing." He softly smirks.
"I want it to match your suit, but I don't think I should buy a white dress." She ignores his last comment and continues.
"Margaret, I don't think it matters. If you want a white dress, then get one and while we're on the subject of dresses. I'm buying your dress."
"Leo, I can afford to buy my own dress."
Leo rolls his eyes at her, "Margaret, my money is yours now, so…"
"Well, we're not officially married yet," she points out to him with a determined look.
"Look, I want to buy your dress. Why won't you let me?"
Margaret thinks about it for a few seconds, "I really don't have an answer for you. I guess I've just been on my own for so long that I'm used to buying whatever I need."
"Okay that makes sense, but you need learn to let me provide for you. I want to take care of you and Tommy."
"I know you do and… you'll already done so much for Tommy."
"So, now it's your turn," Leo smiles.
"Leo, it's just that I'm so used to being independent and taking care of myself, but I'll try harder to relax about the money thing." Margaret sees the deep need for Leo to provide for them in his eyes.
"So, does this mean you'll let me buy your dress?"
"Yeah, you've convinced me." Margaret smiles.
Leo gets up from the couch. "I'll just be a second," he says after seeing Margaret's puzzled faced.
"Okay," she says, as she watches him walk into the bedroom to get the money from his wallet.
"Here," Leo says, as he walks back into the room and hands her a thick wad of bills.
Margaret takes the money and quickly counts it. "Leo, what is this for?"
"Your dress."
"But, you just gave me eight hundred dollars," she gives him her best duh look.
"Oh, isn't that enough. I'll go get more." He starts to turn, but Margaret jumps up and grabs him by the arm.
"Leo McGarry, you'll do no such thing," she scolds, as she waves the hand full of money at him. "This is way too much for a dress. I wasn't planning on spending much more than maybe a hundred dollars. I'm not buying an actual wedding dress. I was just going to get a nice evening gown."
"Yeah, well… I hear evening dresses can be pretty expensive, too. The last one that CJ bought was…"
"Well, CJ can afford it…" She quickly points out.
"…And now, you can too, Margaret," he smiles.
"But, there's no reason to spend that kind of money on a dress."
"Margaret, just take the money. Buy yourself a dress, some new shoes, and anything else you might need for the wedding."
"But…"
"Please Margaret," he pleads.
"Okay, but there's going to be lots of change left over for you."
"Okay, we can worry about that later." Leo takes her hand and walks her over to the couch. "Let's just sit down right now and enjoy some quiet time, before we go to sleep."
"Leo," she softly smiles. "Whenever you say that, we always wind up making out like teenagers on the couch." She says, as she lets him take her in his arms.
"Really, hmm… I guess I'm gonna have to come up with a new line to get you in my arms on the couch." He presses a kiss into her hair.
"Nah, this one's works pretty good," she whispers into his ear, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.
"Yeah." Leo barely gets out of his mouth just before Margaret's lips capture his in a sweltering kiss.
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"Hello," Mallory answers the phone.
"Hey, Baby." Leo smiles.
"Hey Daddy, what's up?" She's sort of surprised that he's calling, since she just saw him yesterday afternoon. But, then again, he's a changed man these days, especially since he and Margaret got together.
"Margaret and I need a favor," He says, as he looks down at Tommy in his infant seat on the floor. Leo was just about to head out, when he remembered that he needed to call Mallory.
"Anything."
"Could you watch Tommy for a couple of hours later this afternoon?"
"Sure, do you and Maggie have a hot date planned?" She teases.
"Yeah, something like that," Leo softly laughs. "Can ya be here around four so Margaret can give you a very exhaustive list of instructions on how to care for Tommy?"
"Maggie's not home right now, is she?" Mallory laughs.
"Why would you say that?"
"Cause, you'd never say that in front of her."
"You're right, I probably… wouldn't," he laughs. "Mal, I'm sorry to rush off the phone, but I really need to get going."
"Okay, Daddy."
"We'll see ya at four."
"I'll be there. Bye, Daddy."
"Bye, Baby."
Leo reaches down to pick up Tommy, who's still waiting patiently in his car seat. "Okay, little man, let's get going. We have a lot to get accomplished today, before your… big sister comes over."
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Margaret's been very lucky on her shopping trip. She bought the cutest little suit for Tommy and some cute matching dress shoes. She knows that he won't keep them on, but she just couldn't resist them, after the sales lady showed them to her. She's also found the perfect dress and matching shoes at Nordstroms at the Fashion Centre Mall. It's a gorgeous champagne colored gown with a plunging v-neckline and low-cut back with criss cross straps and draped side straps. She is on her way to pay for them when her cell phone rings.
"Hello," Margaret answers.
"Margaret, this is Abbey. Leo was just here and told us the wonderful news, and I just wanted to call and tell you congratulations."
"Thank you Mrs. Bartlet," she replies.
"Margaret, I think you should call me Abbey, after all Leo is Jed's best friend."
"Umm… thank you Ma'am."
"Okay, we'll work on that later. I was wondering if there was anything special you wanted for tomorrow night?"
"No, whatever food you have served is fine with me. I'm sorry for the short notice. But, there was no changing Leo's mind."
"Margaret, I wasn't talking about that. I was wondering if you might want to leave Tommy with us for the evening."
"That's very nice of you to offer but… umm… you see… I haven't been… cleared by my doctor, and my appointment isn't for another two weeks." She blushes. She can't believe she just told the First Lady that.
"Margaret, how old is Tommy?"
"He was four weeks this past Thursday."
"Margaret, I don't think there should be a problem. You had a normal delivery without any complications, so I think you should be fine. Who's your OB?"
"Dr. Tribet."
"Bill Tribet?"
"Yeah, well I guess his first name is William. At least that's what's on the diplomas hanging in his office. So I assume we're talking about the same doctor." Margaret rattles off.
"Let me give him a call."
"Mrs. Bartlet, I couldn't impose on…"
"Nonsense, it's going to be your wedding night."
"But…"
"Margaret, I'll call you right back."
"Mrs. Bartlet," Margaret gasps into the empty line.
Five minutes later her cell phone rings again. "Hello."
"Margaret, it's all set. Bill is making his rounds at GW right now, and he said he could see you there. Just have him paged when you get there and he'll meet you at the outpatient clinic. Can you be there within the next hour?"
Margaret looks at her watch. "Yeah, I think I can make it. I just finished paying for my dress."
"Oh, I can't wait to see your dress."
"I didn't get the typical wedding gown; it's an evening gown."
"Margaret, I'm sure it's perfect."
"I hope Leo likes it."
"Margaret, Leo would love you in anything. He's so gone over you."
"And I feel the same way about him."
"Jed and I couldn't be happier… for the both of you."
"Thanks."
"Well, I'd better let you go since you have a very important appointment to keep."
"Yes and thanks again for everything… Abbey," she says bravely.
"You're welcome, bye."
"Bye."
TBC in Part 13
WOW! All I can say is "Thank You!" to all of you who keep sending me such wonderful feedback. Your thoughtfulness is too much for words. I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to keep up with replying to your kind feedback, but I've been working hard on trying to finish the story, it just keeps growing, and getting our family ready for our long vacation.
Thanks!
Bev