Everyone Notices Part 13
Rating: Mature
See part 1 for details.
Part 13
"Hey, CJ," Leo greets his former Press Secretary, as he walks into his old office carrying Tommy in one arm and the infant seat in the other.
"Hey Leo, what a surprise." She can't help but smile at the sight of Leo McGarry standing there holding a baby. "Where's Margaret?"
"She's out shopping."
"I'm surprised she didn't make you two go with her, since she almost had a tizzy yesterday when she couldn't get a hold of you on the phone," CJ teases.
"Ya know… I'm perfectly capable of taking care… oh never mind," he lightly grumbles, as he sets the car seat down and heads for the couch. "Margaret didn't need our help," he says, sitting down. "And besides… Thomas and I… needed to see the President and Abbey."
"They're both in the Residence," she informs him and then wonders why Leo's here if he came to see them.
"I know, I just came form there, and now we're here to see you," he smiles, as he gives Tommy a kiss on his head.
CJ smiles at the sight of Leo being so tender with Tommy. She walks over and joins them on the couch. "Do you think… I mean… Can I hold him?" CJ asks shyly, as she holds out her arms.
"Sure, ya can." Leo hands Tommy over to her. "He's overdue for a nap, so don't be too surprised if he starts to get fussy. He just had a bottle upstairs, but he's been fighting his nap."
"He's such a cutie," CJ coos to the little guy in her arms.
"Yeah, he is," Leo agrees with a smile.
"So, why did you need to see me?" CJ asks, as she tickles Tommy's chin, getting him to smile at her.
"Well, I wanted to tell ya that you don't have to worry about The Post's pending article about Margaret and me."
"Really?" She tilts her head.
"Yeah, it's being taken care of," Leo gives CJ an impish grin. "Well, at least it will be… by tomorrow night."
"How?" CJ asks, wondering if Leo went through with his threat of purchasing the Washington Post. She knows that Leo is worth millions, but she didn't really think he was serious about his threat.
"Margaret and I are… getting married…"
"Oh, Leo, congratulations," CJ happily interrupts.
"Tomorrow," Leo finishes his sentence.
"Huh?" CJ's eyes go wide.
"We're getting married tomorrow and you're invited."
"Tomorrow? How could you find a place on such short notice?"
"Well, it helps if your best friend is the President," Leo smiles.
"True," she smiles. "So where?"
"In the Residence. That's why I needed to see Abbey and Je... I mean the President. It's going to be at five-thirty with a small reception dinner afterwards."
"Wow, you don't mess around, do you?" She laughs. "I guess it's true what they say about the power of the press."
"I know… it may seem that way, but they've really only succeeded in speeding up my plans to marry Margaret."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" CJ asks, as she realizes that Tommy has fallen asleep in her arms. "Ah… look, he's fallen asleep. He's such a good baby. Margaret is so lucky. My niece would never be this good with a stranger."
"Yes he is, and yes she is, but can you imagine a child of Margaret's being anything less than a good baby? Plus… Abbey and the President really wore him out," Leo grins.
"I just bet they did," CJ smiles. The Bartlets are known for their love of kids.
"And yes, there is something that you can could do for us." Leo digs into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper.
"Anything," CJ smiles, happy that Leo is going to let her help.
"Here's a list of people that we'd like to have attend the wedding. I hate to ask, but could you take care of inviting them? Since they all work for ya, I thought that maybe…"
"Leo, I don't mind at all. I'm glad to help anyway I can," she says as she leans over, takes the list and looks it over.
"Could ya also arrange for your favorite photographer to be there to take a couple of pictures during and after the ceremony so that they can be released with a press statement on Monday morning?"
"Sure, anything else?"
"I've also got something I want announced at the press briefing," Leo hands her another piece of paper. He wrote the statement last night after Margaret agreed to marry him. It didn't take him long, since he'd been running it through his head ever since Margaret and he had confessed their love for one another. He just didn't think he'd get to marry Margaret this soon.
"Okay, here let's trade," she gently hands him Tommy and then takes the piece paper, opens it, reads it and smiles.
Leo kisses Tommy and then looks at CJ, "CJ… I'm going to be listed on the birth certificate as his father. Margaret hasn't filed for it yet, but she will right after we get married."
"Okay," CJ takes a second to think about how she can phrase what she needs to ask. "Leo, who knows that you're… well that you're not… Tommy's…"
"Not his biological father," Leo finishes for her.
"Yeah."
"You, the President, Abbey, Donna, Mallory, Josh and maybe a couple of nurses and the doctor at the hospital."
"Do you think that the nurses or the doctor will say anything?" CJ she asks, as she lays the two pieces of paper on the coffee table.
"I don't think so, I'm not going to worry about it. I don't see any reason for them to come forward and say anything."
"They might, if reporters start asking the right questions."
"They have no proof, plus they didn't seem like the type of people who would give out information to the press. They were very nice and so supportive through the whole labor and delivery. Margaret even told me that one of the nurses even told her that she could tell that I loved her."
"Money can turn some people's heads."
"This is true, but… I think our wedding, and the follow up announcement will put an end to the reporters asking questions and following me around."
"Yeah, it'll be a non-story, so you may be right."
"Yeah, let's hope."
"Leo… what about the… father? Do you think he'll cause trouble?" CJ asks as she shifts into Press Secretary mode. It's a role that she finds hard to leave behind at times like these.
"He doesn't even know about Tommy and… if he ever does figure it out and is stupid enough to speak out, I'll have the bastard…" Leo stops, remembering he has Tommy in his arms. He gets up, softly walks over to the infant seat and carefully places Tommy in it. He looks down at his young son, closes his eyes briefly, takes a heavy breath, and then turns towards CJ. "If that so called man comes forward to claim Tommy as… as his, I'll have his ass arrested so fast, he'll never know what the Hell hit him."
"Leo?" CJ hasn't seen Leo this upset in a long time. She sees anger and something else in his eyes.
Leo takes some deep calming breaths; he doesn't want his blood pressure going sky-high. "CJ… she was… Gawd it wasn't even a date, from what she described, but still… Margaret was date raped."
"Oh my God," CJ gasps, as she puts her a hand to her mouth. "When? I mean how? She never said anything to me… or any of us."
"That son of a bitch used a rape drug on her."
"Did Margaret go to the police?"
"It's a long story. At first, she didn't realize what had happened to her, and when she did, she blamed it on her emotional state. She had a couple of drinks with him and she when she woke up; she blamed it all on the alcohol. By the time she 'was' thinking clearly, she discussed it with a friend, who realized what had really happened to her… well, Margaret thought it was too late to do anything about it. She went to her doctor to get tested for… diseases and that's how she found out she was pregnant."
"Is Margaret okay?"
"Yeah, they didn't find anything. Thank God."
CJ thinks for a few seconds letting it all sink in, "This must have happened around the time of your heart attack."
"Actually, just a couple of nights after it. That's why she was so upset in the first place," Leo whispers. "If it wasn't for my fucking heart attack, this would never have happened." His temper starts to rise again.
"Leo, you can't blame yourself."
"Yes I can. She went to my hotel to… well, she wouldn't have been there that night if it weren't for me."
"It happened at your hotel."
"Yeah. The bastard went though her purse, found my extra card key that Margaret has and took her to my room and…"
"Your room."
"Yeah. This would have never happened if it hadn't been for me." Leo rubs the scar on his chest.
"Leo, I'm sure Margaret doesn't blame you."
"No, she doesn't."
"Leo, you've got to let this go. This isn't doing you any good. You have Margaret and Thomas now. You need to concentrate on that."
"I know… and I do love them so much," Leo glances back at Tommy.
"Then, that's all that really matters now, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I just wish…"
"Leo, you need to stop this destructive way of thinking."
"Yeah," Leo nods his head, "I know you're right, but it hurts so much that she went through this."
"Of course I'm right. You just need to be there for her and listen to her whenever she wants to talk about it."
"Yeah. She really doesn't remember much and it happened months ago, so she's had some time to work through it. But… I just found out last night and… well… I guess I'm still trying to deal with it."
"Did she talk with someone about it?"
"I don't know. I didn't think to ask," Leo hangs his head.
"Leo, you can't think of everything. I'm sure you were very supportive. That's what she needs. She really lights up whenever someone talks about you or asks her about the baby. I should have known that she loved you."
"Her and Tommy are… my life." Leo smiles.
"Yeah they are and if I were you, I'd start worrying about how you're going to keep up with a young vibrate wife and your new son." CJ softly laughs.
"Yeah," Leo grins. "They're both something else. I can't believe how lucky I am to have them."
"I think they're lucky, too, Leo," she says, as she walks over and kisses him on the cheek, causing him to blush.
"Thanks and thanks for… well for…"
"Leo, it's what friends do."
"Yeah," Leo looks over at Tommy. "I guess we had better get going. Mallory is coming over to watch Tommy so that Margaret and I can go out and buy some rings."
"Are you guys going away for a honeymoon?"
"You know, I hadn't even thought about that. With Tommy being so young, we will probably wait a while. But, I do want to take the next two weeks off, if that's okay with you?"
"Sure, just fill out a leave slip, we do have to make it official. Do you have enough annual leave to cover it?" She teases him.
"Yeah, I don't think it'll be a problem." He rolls his eyes at her.
"Leo, as far as a honeymoon, I'm sure you have plenty of people who'd being willing to watch him."
"I'm sure, but I don't think his Mama would want to leave him so soon." Leo hovers over the car seat, staring down at his son.
"I don't think his Daddy… wants to either," CJ points out with a smile.
Nodding, Leo flashes a quick grin; "Well, I guess I'll see ya tomorrow," Leo smiles brightly as he picks up the infant seat and walks out the door.
CJ walks over to her desk, and picks up her phone, "Toby, do you have a minute? Good, bring Annabeth with you. I have some good news to share with you." CJ hangs up the phone, sits down and waits for their arrival.
----------
"I'll get it," Margaret informs Leo, who's sitting on the couch working the Times crossword puzzle, as she breezes by him.
"Mallory," Margaret says, as she opens the door.
"Hey, Maggie," she says, as she steps into the apartment and gives her a hug.
"Thanks for coming over and giving up your Saturday evening for us."
"You know, I can baby-sit him anytime you two want to go out for dinner."
Margaret throws a funny look towards Leo, who's just getting up off the couch, "Didn't you tell her?"
"No. I thought we'd tell her in person." Leo grins.
"Tell me what?" Mallory asks.
"You tell her," Leo motions to Margaret.
"Mal, your Father asked me to marry him."
"Oh Maggie, congratulations," she rushes to her and gives her another hug.
"Hey, what about me?" Leo fakes a pout.
"You too, Daddy," she pulls him into a giant hug.
"So, are you guys going out for a celebration dinner?"
"No, we're going to get rings, 'cause the wedding's tomorrow." Leo announces.
"Tomorrow?" Mallory gasps.
"At five-thirty in the Residence, can you make it?" Leo smiles.
"Wow, that's fast, but yeah I think I can be there." She laughs.
"Mallory, you already knew that I loved Margaret and Tommy and that I wanted to make them my family, but one of the reasons we've decided to rush it is… there's going to be an article in The Post about Margaret, Tommy and me. So…"
"Daddy, I don't care what the reason for the quickness is, I know you and Margaret both want this, so the timing doesn't matter to me."
"Thanks, Baby."
"So, where's my new little baby brother?"
"He's napping in his crib, but he should be up soon," Margaret says.
"Well then, what are you two waiting for? Go get your rings," Mallory smiles.
"We will, but first I want to go over a couple of things with you." Margaret heads for the kitchen.
"Yeah, Daddy already warned me about the list," she smiles.
"Yeah, I can just imagine what he said about it," Margaret gives him a look as she playfully swats at him.
"It wasn't that bad," Leo defends himself, as he ducks.
"Mal, we won't be gone long, but here's his schedule and some things you might need to know." Margaret hands her a yellow legal pad filled with instructions.
"See, I told ya," Leo smirks, as he watches his daughter's reaction to the long and precise list.
"Daddy, Margaret's a first time mother. Leave her alone. I'm sure I'm going to be the same way too."
"Mallory," Leo growls. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
"No, Daddy," she laughs. "I'm not pregnant. I'm just saying that I'm sure I'll be the same way if and when it does happen."
"Well, first ya need to get married," he quickly points out to her in a very fatherly voice.
"Leo!" They both yell at him.
"What?"
"Need I remind you that I was not married when I got pregnant?" Margaret asks, with her hands on her hips.
"But, that's different," Leo says, before he can stop himself.
"Yes, it was, but I could have chosen not to be a single mother. So explain to me how it's different?" Margaret asks, as she watches Leo squirm.
"It is…. 'cause… well Mallory's my daughter and…" Leo stutters. He doesn't know how to get out of the hole he's dug for himself.
"Daddy, I think that Margaret is someone's daughter too."
"Yeah, Leo," Margaret pipes in.
"Okay, okay," Leo holds up his hands. He knows that there's no way to make them see his view as a father. Plus, Mallory made a good point. "You guys win. I'm sorry, I was wrong. There is not much of a difference, now can we please go."
"Mal, we won't be gone long," Margaret says, as she heads for the living room to get her coat that's laying on the back of the couch. Leo follows her and helps her on with her coat.
"You guys should eat dinner while you're out. We'll be fine, besides you both have cell phones, right?"
"I don't know," Margaret says, as she quickly gives Leo an anxious look.
"It would be nice to have a meal out by ourselves, but I don't think we're ready to do that, just yet. But thanks, Mallory. We will take up your offer at another time, okay?" Leo says, as he picks up his coat and puts it on. "Are ya ready, Mama?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Margaret, we'll hurry, I promise. But… I want you to take your time and pick out the rings that you really want. They are forever ya know."
"Oh, are ya taking her by to see Stuart?" Mallory asks. She knows her father too well.
"Yeah, he's going to keep his shop open just for us. Speaking of which, Margaret, we really do need to get going. We don't want to keep him too late."
"Okay, bye Mal." Margaret looks lost as she hugs her.
"Maggie, it will be fine. I promise… I'll take good care of him."
"I know… it's just…"
Leo takes Margaret by the hand and leads her to the door, "Come on Sweetie, Mal will take good care of Tommy."
Margaret bobs her head.
"Bye, Mal," Leo calls over his shoulder as her escorts a nervous Margaret out the door.
----------
Leo and Margaret were gone for almost two hours. They stopped at a restaurant, on the way back from the jewelers and brought back Chinese for them all to eat. Mal was surprised at the size of diamond that Margaret allowed her father to buy her. She was sure that Margaret wouldn't let him spend a lot of money on her, but the ring was absolutely gorgeous. It's a marquis cut stone, probably around one and half to two carats. The wide matching wedding bands are white gold.
They sit around the kitchen table, eating and talking about the wedding. Tommy's the perfect baby for them, very content in his swing and just happy to be in the same room with them. He had taken a bottle earlier for Mallory and had taken a small nap for her, too.
"Well, I need to get going. I have a wedding to go to tomorrow," Mallory smiles as she gets up from the table.
"Here, I'll walk ya to your car," Leo says, as he stands.
"Daddy, I'm perfectly capable of making it to my car."
"Humor me, okay?"
"Okay. Maggie, I'll see ya tomorrow." Mallory give her almost step-mom a kiss and a hug.
"Thanks again for watching Tommy. Sorry about being such a…"
"Maggie, stop it." Mal smiles.
Leo walks to the door and opens it, "Ya ready, Mal?"
"Yeah."
Leo puts a hand to the small of her back and guides her to the elevator. "Mal, I just needed to talk to ya about something."
"I figured," she smiles.
"I'll tell ya outside."
"Okay."
Leo and Mallory walk out into the cold evening. "I wanted to tell ya about our plans for Tommy," Leo starts, after they reach her car.
"Daddy, don't worry about it. Maggie told me tonight, when you went into the bedroom to change into your sweatpants."
"She did?"
"Yeah, she was worried about how I would feel about it, but as far as I'm concerned, Tommy's been my little baby brother since the day he was born," she smiles.
"Thanks, Mal. That means a lot to me, and to Margaret."
"What's family for?"
"Mal… ya might get some reporters in your face." He warns.
"I know how to handle them. I have for a long time."
"Okay, so… tomorrow at the wedding. Will you hold Tommy for us during the ceremony?"
"I'd love to, Daddy." She gives her father a hug and a kiss
"Thanks," Leo opens up her car door.
Mallory gets in her car, "Love ya Daddy."
"Love ya, too," Leo says, as he closes the door and steps back away from the car. He waves at his daughter as she pulls away from the curb and drives down the street.
----------
"Mmm… this is nice," Margaret says, leaning against Leo and sipping from a cup of coffee. Margaret had changed into her sweats and a baggy t-shirt, while Leo had walked Mal to her car.
"The coffee or the quiet?" Leo asks, as he puts an arm around her.
"Both."
"Yeah, you make the most amazing coffee."
"Is that why you were always dropping by CJ's office with an empty cup?" She softly laughs.
"Well yeah… that and to get a chance to see ya," he smiles.
"I just figured you didn't know how to make coffee."
"Hey."
"When did you ever make me coffee in the past fifteen years?"
Leo thinks for a couple of seconds, "I guess I didn't, but I did bring you coffee when you were in the hospital when you had Tommy."
"Yes, you did," she smiles.
They sit there for a few minutes, enjoying the stillness of the moment. Margaret snuggles deeper into Leo's chest. Eventually, Leo takes Margaret's cup from her and sets it on the coffee table next to his. He positions himself so that he is facing her and takes her face in his hands and whispers, "I love you," just before he presses his lips against hers.
"Mmm… this is even better than the coffee," she mumbles, as he continues to kiss her.
"Yeah," he breathes out, after coming up for air. "Much better than coffee," he groans as he pulls Margaret onto his lap and moves his hand up under her t-shirt. He's very happy to discover that she's not wearing a bra.
"Oh Leo," Margaret gasps as he takes her one of her breasts in his hand.
"This okay?" Leo asks, as he starts to gently knead it.
"Oh yeah," Margaret smiles as she enjoys the feeling that his ministrations are causing. Margaret repositions herself on Leo's lap, so that she is now straddling him.
"Margaret," Leo groans, as she presses her center against his growing desire. He moves his other hand under her shirt.
Margaret leans back and enjoys what he is doing to her. She wants to take this into the bedroom and make love to him, but she wants to surprise him on their wedding night, tomorrow. "Leo," she whimpers, as he rolls her nipples between his forefingers and thumbs. She can't help herself as she starts to moves against him, building a rhythm.
Before she knows it, Leo lifts her shirt over her head, "Leo," she gasps, as he gently and takes one of her breasts into his mouth. They have never gone this far before. They have been taking it slow, because they knew that they still had a few weeks to go.
Leo stops and looks up at her, "Is this okay?" He grins.
"Yes, but you need to lose your shirt too," Margaret says, as she reaches for Leo's t-shirt. She wants to feel her skin against his, before she stops their amorous activities for the night. She knows they can't go much further tonight, or they won't be able to stop themselves. She lifts his shirt up over his head and throws it behind her. She loves the way her bare skin feels against his, as she gives him a long hug. She pulls back from him and runs her fingertips down his scar. She bends over and starts applying kisses down the length of his scar. When she gets to the end of his scar, she slides her body down his legs and quickly drops down to his sweatpants and begins to mouth him through the thin material.
"Oh Gawd, Margaret," Leo moans, as his hips involuntarily jerk forward. She's never done this to him before.
"Mmm… do you like?" She grins up at him and then starts to mouth him again.
After just a few seconds of pleasure, Leo stops her. "Margaret, please don't," he gently takes her face in his hands.
She stops, and looks up at him, "Leo, I want to…"
"And I want to wait until… we both can enjoy one another… completely." He whispers.
"I really don't mind. Please let me do this for you," she says.
"Thanks, but," his voice goes high, when she runs he hand under the waistband of his sweatpants and gently takes a hold of him and starts to massage him. "I want our first time together to be shared by both of us. I can… wait." He swallows hard.
Margaret slowly withdraws her hand, "I'm not so sure," she laughs, after seeing his pants twitch. She can tell that he's so close to the edge.
"I'll be… fine," he breathes out between clenched teeth. "That is, if you stop that thing with your mouth that… you were doing."
"Okay, I'll stop, for now," she almost pouts.
"Margaret," Leo touches her chin, causing her to look at him. "Promise me though that sometime in the very near future… that you'll do that again." He smiles.
"I promise, and… without the pants next time too," she winks, knowing that it's going to be a lot sooner than Leo thinks.
"Oh Gawd, Margaret, you're going to kill me," Leo slightly whines as he tries to get that image out of his head.
"What did I do?" she laughs. "I guess I'd better put my shirt back on."
"Yeah, I think I'm going to ah… go take a shower." Leo carefully gets up off the couch.
"Do you want some help?" She calls after him.
"No, its okay. You've already been enough help, tonight." He murmurs.
"Hey… you started it," she teases.
"Yeah, I did," he shakes his head as he gingerly walks to the bathroom. He smiles as he reaches for the doorknob. He can't believe how worked up she can get him in such a short time. He shuts the door, quickly undresses, turns on the water and finally finds some temporary relief in the private confines of the shower stall.
TBC in Part 14