Series: Snapshots of the Past

Story: Checkmate

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Previously: Jed and Abbey defended each other and their marriage when they were cornered by a reporter; Abbey confronted Jed when she suspected he was spying on her for the state democrats; Jed realized Abbey was hurt by his decision to consult another doctor

Summary: Leo hides his alcoholism from Jed; Jenny tells Abbey the real reason the family is going to Europe; Abbey gets a surprise regarding Jed's campaign

The sun had risen quite high over the New Hampshire sky that afternoon. But you'd never know it from the gloomy guestroom upstairs. Here, Leo McGarry paced the floor and occasionally looked out from the corners of the gauzy white curtains to the open field and pasture below.

He heard the squealing and laughter of giddy schoolgirls downstairs, the adult repartee between Jed, Abbey, and their guests, and the ruckus caused by a rebellious toddler who insisted on running around the house at full speed while being chased down the halls by her father. Never had he felt so distant from the signs of life around him. Never had he felt so ignored and, yet, so willing to ignore others.

He reached inside his suitcase for a faded pair of loose-fitting blue jeans that had been deliberately thrown to the bottom. His fingers snaked inside the pocket - the home of a tiny silver flask, one that no one but him knew existed. He twisted the top and pressed it to his mouth, savoring the feel of the liquid just barely wetting the thin membrane of his lips. His eyes closed and he took a sip.

This was the long-awaited glass of water offered to someone roaming the desert, the spark of heat that could calm clammy shivers and fill the soul with a warmth that could only come from the security of a predictable high. The taste energized him. It invigorated his senses. As if a smoldering ember had reignited a crackling flame beneath him, it jolted him. For one lingering moment, he felt alive.

A small blue plastic cup sat on top of the oak chest by the window. With a quick glance to assure no one was coming, he approached it. He fully intended to pour only a bit of the alcohol into the cup, but he made no effort to stop himself as the entire contents of the flask soon mingled with the punch.

"What are you doing up here?"

He jerked at the sound of Jenny's voice. If he hadn't had his back to her, he might not have been able to hide the flask in time. "I'm just taking a breather."

"Jed's been looking for you. You should go find him. I need to pack."

"Everything's about ready to go, isn't it?"

"I have a few more things to fold and I want to straighten up a bit."

"Okay. I'll be downstairs."

Precariously balancing the cup between two fingers, Leo left the room and headed for the stairs. It was difficult to hide in plain sight. Nearly impossible, in fact. He did his best to conceal his steps, but the creaking of the wood gave him away and just as he hit the bottom landing, he was confronted by Ellie and Mallory.

"Daddy, will you play hide and seek with us?" Mallory asked.

"I will, but maybe a little later. I don't think Ellie's mom's going to be too happy about her running around in that fancy white dress."

Ellie glanced down at the lace and satin that defined her outfit. He was right. Abbey wouldn't be too happy. Besides, her brand new Mary Janes would never give her sufficient traction to outrun her opponent. "What if I change, Uncle Leo?"

He kneeled to her level. "Tell you what. Your dad's still carrying around his camera so after another round of pictures, you and Mal go upstairs and change into your play clothes and I'll chase you both around the front yard. What do you say?"

"Okay!" Ellie answered.

"Okay," Mallory agreed, her eyes falling to the cup of punch in his hands. "Can I have a sip of your drink?"

"There's plenty of punch in the kitchen. It's already been poured and it's right next to the cake."

"I just want a little bit."

Leo stood. "Go to the kitchen and get your own."

"Why can't I have yours?"

"Because I said so!"

Picking up on the tone of Leo's sharp response, Ellie took Mallory's hand and led her away. "Come on. I'll get you some punch, Mallory!"

Leo raised his cup for another sip. This time, he gulped down more than half the liquor, stopping only to take a deep breath as he turned around and came face-to-face with Jed. "Are you sulking in the shadows?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Jed replied. "Where'd you disappear to?"

"I went upstairs to get the bags ready. We have to leave for Boston in a few hours."

"I figured."

"Ellie did well today. Mallory was so hyper the morning of her First Communion, we didn't think we'd ever calm her down enough to actually get to the church. Of course, part of that could have been the chocolate donut I gave her that morning."

"Lizzie was the same. Abbey would have killed me if I had given her sugar that morning."

"Jenny probably should have killed me too."

Jed hesitated slightly, nodding and staring at his feet shuffling across the floor. Finally sick of the small talk, he looked up and asked, "Leo, what are you drinking?"

"This?" Leo gestured with his cup. "It's punch."

"Why did you snap at Mallory like that?"

"Were you eavesdropping?"

"I couldn't help but overhear. I was standing right behind you."

The blue plastic had hidden the drink quite nicely. Jed stepped closer to his friend to peek inside the cup, but when he snooped, Leo pulled away so defensively that the alcohol sloshed the rim, a few drops sprinkling Jed's chin. "Damn it!"

Jed wiped the moisture with his finger tips. "I didn't think it was punch."

"I wanted a drink, okay?"

"I've heard that line before. You always want a drink."

"Are you channeling Jenny now?"

"Why are you so cranky? You've been like this since you got here."

"Maybe that's because I don't like being questioned every time you and I see each other," Leo snapped as he walked hurriedly towards the door. "I need some air."

Jed followed seconds later, dropping the empty cup into the trash on his way outside. His frenzied movements came to a halt as he opened the door and saw Leo sitting on the front steps, his shoulders rounded and his face drooping.

He took a seat beside him. "I wasn't trying to start something back there."

"Sure felt like it." Leo waved his hand. "Forget it. I'm just being cranky, like you said."

"The girls wanted some of your drink, Leo."

"I didn't give it to them, Jed."

"You drink a lot, don't you?"

"What are you doing? You know what, don't...don't go there."

"I'm not going to lecture you. It's just...we've been here before. We've talked about this a couple of times, as you well know."

"And every single time, I tell you the same thing. Why would you expect something different this time?"

"Because I'm starting to realize you're one hell of an actor."

Leo's cold, hard expression narrowed as he looked at Jed with no small amount of resentment. "Are you calling me a liar?"

There was a time when Leo's eyes sparkled like the sun's reflection on top of the calm blue waters of the ocean, when his smile turned a dozen heads, when his charm claimed the hearts of the ones he loved. But when he turned his face towards Jed on this day, there was no trace of that man. He had been replaced by one much older, one without the million-dollar grin and the warmth and affection that made him Leo McGarry. Jed was left wondering when his friend had changed so drastically.

People had warned him. Jenny and Abbey had both approached him about Leo, but he had been too stubborn to see it. All he wanted to remember was the Leo he had known since 1960. The person he canvassed with as a teenager outside the Boston headquarters of John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign. The person who had left for Vietnam a few years later, still a boy so scared and unsure, yet dedicated to serving his country. The person who returned from the bloody battlefield as a man, scarred by atrocities he never could share. It was shortly before Jed married Abbey that Leo re-entered the civilian world. Since then, he squelched any references to the war and never addressed the demons that continued to haunt his dreams.

That was the man Jed was seeing now. A shell of his former self, Leo had been lost in his raw emotions and the stress that came from witnessing the horrifying images Jed had only seen on television. This was it. This was what happened to this extraordinary man whose life was forever altered by the memories he buried deep inside his soul.

Saddened by the implication of Leo's question, Jed adopted a softer approach.

"I'm just saying that..." He trailed off, his apprehension now visible in the way he shook his head and sighed. "I'm here to help, if you need me, Leo. I'm always going to be here."

"There's no problem. I'm fine. I drink to relieve tension and it works, most of the time."

"How much tension is there in your life?"

"You'd be surprised," Leo replied somberly. "Jenny's been on my case for weeks. I can't seem to make her happy and that's all I really want to do. I want to make her happy."

"What's going on?"

"Work." He dismissed it carelessly with a frustrated chuckle, unable to admit that his drinking was the main cause of his marital troubles. "You know how it is. You get mad at Abbey when she works late sometimes."

"I'm getting better at it. When Abbey's gone, especially overnight, I miss her. I miss her so much I can't even sleep."

"And then you fight."

"It's not so much fighting as petty bickering. Occasionally, I make an insensitive comment or two, but then I realize she doesn't want to be away any more than I want her to be. It's her career and when I married her, I knew this was going to be her career one day. I have to live with it."

"You should talk to Jenny. I wish she was as understanding as you."

"That understanding goes both ways, Leo. Abbey tries to make up for her schedule by planning quality time with the family whenever she's free. She takes the girls out for a mother-daughter day. She cooks me a candlelight dinner on her days off and then we cuddle up and watch a movie or read together."

"And life's just peachy for the Bartlet Bunch, isn't it? I already got this speech from Abbey last year."

Jed was surprised by Leo's snippiness. He had never been so confrontational. "It works for us, Leo."

"Sorry. That was rude and unnecessary, I know. But the thing is, what you have with Abbey isn't going to work for me and Jenny. Whenever I'm home, she's nagging me about one thing right after another. I find myself avoiding going home for just that reason."

"Then you have to work harder at it. It's not hopeless. I mean, look, you're both trying. You're taking this trip to Switzerland as a romantic second honeymoon. That's a positive sign, right?"

"Hmm?" Leo caught himself then. He remembered the lie he and Jenny had told and instinctively covered his tracks. "Oh. Yeah. Well, as romantic as it can be with Mallory along. Speaking of which, we need to get to Boston before it gets dark."

Jed rose to his feet just after Leo did. "You have time."

"We want to get settled in and get a good night's sleep. Our flight leaves at 6 a.m. tomorrow."

"I wish you could stay another night. I feel like we haven't really caught up."

"On the way back from Europe," Leo replied. "I promise."

"When's that going to be?"

"I really don't know. Maybe a month. We're staying with Jenny's uncle. She's got some cousins in Rome we might see as well, so it's all up in the air."

His flustered reaction did nothing to quell Jed's suspicions. There was more to the story. Of that, he was sure. He nodded and accepted Leo's tale, unaware that Abbey was about to start prodding Jenny upstairs.

She quietly knocked on the door of the guestroom where she saw Jenny making the bed. "You don't have to do that. I'll take care of it."

"I don't mind. You opened your home to us, the least we can do is clean up after ourselves."

"Opened our home? You make it sound like we're strangers. You and Leo are welcome here anytime. You know that."

"I know. I just meant..."

"Things have been rough lately, haven't they?"

"What gave it away?"

Abbey walked around her to grab the ends of the comforter and lay it flat over the mattress before sitting down on the bed. "Just a hunch. You wanna talk about it?"

"You and Jed hit rough spots, don't you?"

"Of course we do. All couples do."

"Then there you go. That's what's happening here."

"It seems like more than that."

"It isn't."

Unlike Leo and Jed, the bond between girlfriends revolved around intimate chats and whispered secrets. It was a recipe that usually worked for Jenny and Abbey and when it didn't, there was always a reason. "You're different. Whatever is going on is taking a toll on you. You don't have to tell me what it is, but if you want to talk, I'm here to listen."

"Thanks."

"Anytime." Abbey stood up, ready to leave the room until she heard Jenny continue.

"All couples hit rough spots and they manage to free themselves, knowing there's a smoother path to take." Jenny collapsed on the bed and remained silent until Abbey joined her. "What if there isn't? How many couples hit a wall or fall head-first into a bottomless pit and still stay together?"

"Jenny, what's going on?"

"I don't know how much longer I can do this."

"You're not thinking of...divorce...are you?" Abbey's curiosity transformed seamlessly into sadness when Jenny nodded. "What happened? I know you've been having problems for a while. Leo told me last year that you guys were fighting over his work schedule and his time with Mallory, but..."

"It's more than that, Abbey. It's so much more." Jenny curled her lips together, fighting the urge to blurt out the root of the problem.

"Tell me." Abbey encouraged her gently.
"If I do, you can't tell Jed - at least, not until Leo and I leave tonight. I don't want Jed confronting him. If he does, Leo will feel so ashamed, I'm afraid he won't go through with it."

"Go through with what? What's going on, Jenn?"

"We're not going on a second honeymoon. There's a clinic in Switzerland, where my uncle works. He thinks they can help Leo...help him get control over his drinking."

"Oh, Jenny. It's that bad?"

"He's so out of hand, Abbey. Most of our money is spent on booze. It's to the point now where I count the days he's sober rather than the days he's drunk."

"Oh God."

"A few weeks ago, he never came home from work, so I had to call my mom at two in the morning with some ridiculous excuse to get her to come over and watch Mal so I could go find him. Turns out, he had passed out in his office with his face buried in his briefcase."

When Jenny stood, Abbey stood with her. "Your mom doesn't know?"

"No one knows. Leo is SO good at it. He doesn't drink excessively in front of people. He gets drunk in private. He waits until everyone leaves the office and then, he has a little party. Thank God he doesn't drive home."

The story sounded so familiar. Abbey remembered what Jed had told her about Leo's father. He, too, was a closet drinker. A drunk, as Jed referred to him. But there was more there. Abbey remembered thinking what kind of bastard could drink himself unconscious then go home and beat up on his own family. Her heart ached for a young Leo and when she let it, it ached harder for a young Jed. John Bartlet may not have been a drunk, but the similarities between the two men were undeniable.

She took a deep breath, then asked. "I have a feeling I already know what you're going to say, but I have to ask. He doesn't...Jenny, forgive me, but he doesn't get violent or abusive, does he?"

"Oh no. Never. He gets belligerent at times, but he's never hurt anyone. That's just not him."

"I didn't think so."

"He's not a mean drunk. Never has been. The night I found him at his office, I took him home and put him to bed, just like I had a thousand times before. The next morning, I told him I had had enough. I threatened to leave that very day unless he agreed to talk to my uncle."

"He must have loved that ultimatum."

"I had no other choice. I'm glad I did what I did because Leo agreed. My uncle has assured me that no one in the U.S. will know. The program will be completed incognito. I feel guilty even talking to you about it."

"Don't. Jed and I love you guys so much. We just want to help."

"I know. You can tell Jed. Just wait until we leave. If Leo finds out before we get there, he'll back out of the whole deal, and if this doesn't work, I can't stay with him any longer. I can't do it to myself...or to Mallory. She doesn't deserve parents who fight all the time."

Abbey had never before been so grateful for her own marriage. Despite the recent ups and downs, there were no serious obstacles crippling her relationship with Jed. There was obvious stress as a result of the campaign, but even that couldn't crack the firm foundation of their love.

She did as Jenny asked and waited until they left that evening before she tried to talk to Jed. But, even then, she stumbled over the words. Her stammering gave him an opening and within seconds, Leo and Jenny were sidelined by his news.

"Jake Tillman...he's a guy in the district...lives a few streets down..." he told her.

"Yeah? I haven't met him yet, if that's where you're going."

"You will meet him - soon. He was jogging around our neighborhood this afternoon. He stopped by just before Leo and I went inside to let me know that he's filing."

"Filing for what?"

"To run. In the primary. He's challenging me for the nomination."

"Are you serious?" He didn't give a verbal response, but he didn't need to. His drawn features answered her question. "Jed...I don't know what to say."

"It's gonna be fine."

"Yes, it is because you're going to beat him. You're going to win. There's no doubt in my mind that you're going to win."

"Yeah. Well, I thought you should know so you won't be surprised when he calls you."

"When he calls me? Why would he call me?"

"He's on-board with your campaign, with what you're doing. He agrees one-hundred percent. Sounded to me like he wanted your endorsement."

Suddenly, the cool breeze shifted. The sun had risen so high that day, but it disappeared rather quickly and as the rosy hues left in its wake faded into navy blue, Abbey felt a chill creep up her spine. Jed lowered his head, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and crossed in front of her to the concrete steps of the house.

TBC