Christmas Without You

by: AdoreLeo

Characters: Leo, Margaret
Pairing: Leo/Margaret
Category: Romance
Rating: TEEN
Disclaimer: The characters are from the NBC, WB, TV show The West Wing; they do not belong to me.
Summary: Its Christmas time at the White House and once again something is not right.
Spoiler: Anything up to and including Abu El Banat
Feedback: I would love to hear your opinion!
Author's Note:Beta By: Lynn, who went above and beyond the call... THANKS!!!!
Additional Ideas By: Katie, who always came through whenever I got stuck. THANKS!!!

Dec 25, 2003

Residence

9:00 Pm

Jed and Abbey have just said goodnight to Leo and Margaret and are now heading for their bedroom. They are both tired from this evening's events, but not too tired to forget about Abbey’s last present for Jed.

"Abbey, I think I’m going to call Ron and let him know that Leo and Margaret are not permitted in the White House for the next two weeks. If I know Leo, he’ll try and find a way back to work before then," Jed says, as he reaches for the phone.

"Okay, but don’t be too long, Dear. Remember, you still have one last present to unwrap tonight." Abbey reminds him as she walks off into the bathroom giving him that look that drives him wild.

"Don’t worry, Sweet Knees, I haven’t forgotten, I’ll be right with you after I talk with Ron," Jed says as he picks up the phone and waits for the White House operator. "Yes, can you find out if Ron Butterfield is still in the White House?" Jed waits a couple of seconds for a response. "Okay, Would you please have him come to the Residence? Thanks."

Ron has been with the Secret Service for a little over twenty years now. This is the second President that he has helped to protect, but it is the first time that he has been the head of the Presidential detail. He was very surprised when he was put in charge of the detail over some five years ago, because he was not the ranking agent at the time and had only been on the previous President’s detail during his last term in office. He had found out later, that Leo McGarry had recommended to President Bartlet that he be put in charge of the detail. This wasn’t just a rumor that he had heard, the President told him after the shooting in Rosslyn.

Ron is making his rounds through the White House Secret Service Command Center. Since it’s Christmas, most of the agents manning the office are new or don’t have families, and he wants to make sure that everything is running smoothly before he leaves the White House for the evening.

Ron makes his way to the camera room to check up on the newest agent. He’s only been in the room for a couple of minutes when Leo and Margaret get into the elevator. The agent manning to camera station pulls them up onto the main monitor, since nothing else is moving in the White House. As soon as the agent does this, Margaret makes her attack on Leo.

"Hey, isn’t that the Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry?" The new agent says in a shocked voice.

"Yes," Ron says with a smile on his face. He knows that Leo and Margaret are together now. Agent Cooper gave him a full report when he got back this morning from his special assignment. Ron is happy that they have finally found their way to each other.

"Isn’t that his secretary?" The rookie agent gasps as he watches Margaret run her hands over Leo’s body. "So, the rumor I heard..." The agent looks up at Ron who has moved closer to the monitors.

"Margaret is his assistant," Ron corrects the agent, "and, we do not comment on the personal lives of the people we protect."

"Sorry, Sir," the young agent offers, "it’s just that... well earlier today... I heard that there might be something is going on between the two of them." The new agent turns his attention back to the bank of monitors.

Ron acknowledges the agent with a nod as he reaches over the agent and hits the stop button on the recorder and then the rewind. He removes the elevator camera from the main monitor and pulls up an empty hallway. He then hits record and tapes over the elevator incident.

"I’ve read most of the senior staff files. She’s been working for him for years. Wasn’t she his assistant at the Labor Department?" The over curious clean-cut agent asks as he watches Ron tape over the incident.

"Yes, she was."

"How long do you think this been going on? Wasn’t he married while he was at the Labor Department?" The agent stares at the smaller monitor that is now displaying the elevator.

"I just told you, we don’t comment on the personal lives..." Ron pauses, he doesn’t want the agent to get the wrong impression of Leo and Margaret. "It’s very recent." Ron is about it say more, when his pager goes off. He looks at the message. "Excuse me, I need to go see the President." Ron walks to the door, stops and turns to face the young agent. "In our line of work we see a lot of things, just remember, sometimes things are not always as they appear." Ron informs the new agent as he turns and heads off to the Residence.

Ron heads off to the Residence and can’t help but think back to the first time he met Leo and Margaret.

********** Flashback to Spring 1993 **********

The first time that they met, Leo was not in the best of shape. Ron’s not even sure that Leo remembers. But, he knows that Margaret remembers. Ron was working out of the downtown Secret Service office, when they received a call late one night that a Cabinet member had been mugged. Ron was the agent to respond. When he arrived at the scene, he found Leo McGarry, the Labor Secretary, was the person who had been mugged. Ron knew of Leo and his rumored drinking problems. Ron had seen him a few times and knew that he was a high-ranking member of the Democratic Party.

Leo was bruised and had a cut on his hand from where he had fallen when he was attacked. He was also very drunk and belligerent. Ron tried to take him to the hospital to be checked, but he refused to go. Then Ron offered to take him home, but Leo was even more adamant that he couldn’t go there. Finally, Leo gave Ron another address and when they got there, a tall redheaded woman answered the door.

"Mr. McGarry, what happened?"

********** End of Spring 1993 flashback **********

Ron enters the elevator and recognizes the faint scent of Margaret’s perfume. He looks up at the hidden camera in the corner and smiles. He exits the elevator and heads off to the President’s bedroom. He knocks on door and awaits permission to enter.

"Come in," the President calls from behind the door.

"Mr. President," Ron says as he enters the room and walks over to the President. "You needed to see me, Sir?"

"Yes, Ron," the President says as he rubs the back of his neck trying to decide how to solicit Ron’s help. "I have a request... well sort of a favor to ask you." Jed realizes that his request is unusual at best.

Ron nods his head. "Okay, Sir."

"Ron, Leo and Margaret just umm... left here and they are... well... they are a couple now and I want you to inform all of your agents that neither one of them is allowed back into the White House for the next two weeks. Unless I say so." The President informs Ron.

"Okay," Ron says in an unsure voice. He’s not used to keeping people like Leo McGarry out of the White House.

"Ron, they both have been under a great deal of stress lately, especially Leo. You know about the incident in his office last night, but there are more things going on too," the President informs Ron.

"Sir, is it something I need to be made aware of?" A concerned Ron asks his President.

"Ron, I know I don’t need to say this, but I will. Whatever I tell you, I want you to keep it just between us, okay?" the President moves over to the couch and sits down. He motions for Ron to sit in the chair across from him.

"You know I will, Sir."

"Ron, Leo has been having panic attacks. Abbey thinks that he will probably start getting better now that some issues have been straightened out and dealt with." The President pauses. "But, there is still a chance that they could still happen and I thought you should know about them."

Ron nods his head. He’s well aware of some of the things that have been going on with Leo. He knows that the First Lady tore into Leo after their July meeting on Zoey’s new security protocol. He also knows that Leo has been pressed to his limits and is on the verge of breaking. He’s happy to find out that things are changing for the better for both Leo and Margaret. Margaret has been suffering right along side Leo. "Thank you, Sir. I don’t see his attacks being a security risk, but we might want to inform his agents in case something happens, so they can be prepared to deal with it." Ron concludes.

"Ron," the President folds his arms and leans back into the couch. "If that’s what you think you should do, then fine." The president pauses, he knows Leo isn’t going to be happy about this. "But, you might want to mention it to Leo first. He should be told that you are telling his agents."

Ron nods his head in agreement. He knows that the President is right. It’s just not something he wants to have to do. Approaching Leo McGarry about personal issues is not something you really want to do. "Okay, Sir. I’ll take care of it the first chance I get."

"Thanks, Ron," the President says, as he gets up off the couch walks towards the door. "Merry Christmas."

Ron stands after the President does and also heads for the door. "Merry Christmas, Sir," Ron says, as he leaves the Residence and heads back to his office, while he tries to figure out how he is going to tell Leo.

Just outside Leo’s Office:

9:15 pm

Leo and Margaret have only made it a few feet from Leo’s office when they run into Ron Butterfield. He appears to be on his way out of the building, too. He has on his traditional black Secret Service overcoat and he is carrying a briefcase. He slows down when he sees them. As soon as Margaret sees Ron she drops Leo’s hand and starts to get a little fidgety. Leo grins at her actions. He’s pretty sure that Ron is already aware of their relationship. Dollars to donuts, Leo thinks, that Ron has been kept in the loop, since his passing out on the floor of his office yesterday

"Ron," Leo says, as he slows and then stops when Ron does the same. Leo can’t help but notice that the agent has something on his mind and usually it’s not good news when Ron comes to visit him.

"Leo, Margaret." Ron replies as he stands there in the hallway looking very uncomfortable.

"Ron, is there something wrong? Do you need me?" Leo asks, as he puts a hand on Margaret’s arm in an effort to get her to calm down a little. He knows how her mind works. She always assumes the worst, anymore, whenever Ron comes by to see Leo.

"Well... no there’s nothing wrong. I do want to talk to you sometime, but it’s not that important... it can wait," the tall lanky agent replies, as he readjusts his grip on his briefcase.

"That’s okay," Leo looks at Margaret who is nodding her head in agreement. "I’ve got a couple of minutes. Let’s go into my office."

"Okay." Ron quickly glances at a tired Margaret. "Sorry, Margaret, but this won’t take long."

"That’s okay, Ron." She turns and heads back to her office. "Do you want me to make you some coffee?"

"No thanks, I won’t hold you two up that long." Ron reassures them as he looks at his watch.

Ron and Leo follow behind Margaret as she heads back into the office that she and Leo had left just a couple minutes ago. Leo walks into his office and Ron follows him. Ron notices that Leo is really favoring his right leg tonight. He hasn’t seen him limp this much, since he fell back in July.

Leo walks to the other side of his office, removes his overcoat and throws it over one of the chairs in front of his desk. He then moves to his couch and slowly sits down. He motions for Ron to sit down in a chair next to the couch. "Ron, what did ya need?" Leo tries unsuccessfully to keep a grimace off of his face as he settles into the couch.

Ron notices Leo’s pained expression, but decides not to inquire about it. Leo is a very private man and Ron isn’t looking forward to what he needs to discuss with him. "Leo, I just came from seeing the President," Ron pauses. He’s not good at this type of conversation, especially when it involves the likes of one Leo McGarry. Ron has always liked Leo and respected him, even after having dealt with a drunken argumentative Leo, but he is still a little leery of his famous temper.

"I suppose that Mr. Big Mouth told you about Margaret and me?" Leo smirks as he leans back further into the couch. Leo had suspected that this might be what Ron wanted to talk with him about. But, he can’t figure out why it’s any of the Secret Service’s business.

Ron gets a faint smile on his face and nods his head. He has witnessed a lot of interplay between Leo and the President these past five years. There have been several times when it has taken every being of his fiber not to laugh out loud at their interchanges. He has never witnessed a stronger friendship than the one that they share. "Yes, the President did mention that you would be moving in together and plan to get married."

"Yes, we are." Leo shifts his position in his chair. His right leg and hip are really starting to bother him. He’s not looking forward to the drive back to Margaret’s apartment. He wishes now that he would have kept his driver so he didn’t have to drive himself. "Just as soon as we can. Is there a security issue with this?" Leo is starting to get a little annoyed with the direction that this conversation is taking and the discomfort that he is experiencing from the right side of his body is not helping the situation.

"No, it’s not an issue." Ron assures him. "Just inform us of your new address and phone number." Ron leans forward in his chair. "Leo, um... I really needed to talk to you about is that... well I just wanted to suggest that you let me inform your security detail of the problems you’ve been experiencing lately. I know we have cut back from the twenty-four seven protection that we had for you a few months ago, but you still require protection at certain places and times. I feel it would be a good thing for your agents to be aware of certain things."

Leo has a puzzled look on his face, and then it dawns on him what Ron is referring to. "He told you about that too, huh?" At first, Leo is a little disturbed that the President told Ron about what has been going on with him, but then he realizes that the President is just looking out for him.

"Yes, the President mentioned that you have been having a few panic attacks." Ron leans back in his chair and rests his hands on his legs. "Leo, this poses no security risk, but I just think that your agents should be made aware, in case you suffer from an attack while they are protecting you. So, they would be able to help or cover for you."

Leo leans forward and rests his arms on his knees and clasps his hands together. He looks directly at Ron. "Yeah, I suppose that they should know." Leo reluctantly agrees. He really hates the idea of having anyone know about any weakness that he might have.

"Leo, you know that the agents do know how to keep a secret?" Ron reassures the Chief of Staff. Ron can tell by Leo’s demeanor that he is not happy about his agents needing to be informed about his panic attacks.

"God, I hope so," Leo smirks as he thinks back to last night and what happened at the bay window.

"Leo, what you’re experiencing is fairly common after a traumatic incident." Ron’s aware that Zoey’s kidnapping is the cause of Leo’s problems. He also knows that things have been strained between him and the First Lady. But, he assumes that situation must be getting better, since Leo and Margaret had dinner in the Residence tonight.

Leo face turns serious and his body goes rigid. Ron and he have never discussed anything about Zoey’s kidnapping since her rescue, other than her new security protocol. It’s not something that Leo has discussed with anybody. "I know, Ron, it’s just..."

Ron stops him before he can complete his sentence. He realizes that Leo carries a tremendous amount of guilt about this. "Leo, you need to stop blaming yourself. It wasn’t your fault that Zoey was kidnapped. It was an act of terrorism." Ron tries to convince him.

"Ron," Leo implores, as his hands start to sweat and his heart starts to beat faster, "I talked the President into ..."

"You did your job," Ron interrupts him again. "We... we all did. But sometimes it just isn’t enough." Ron pauses as he decides whether or not to divulge certain information. "After Rosslyn, we had an agent who had some similar problems, like you are going though right now." Ron lowers his head ever so slightly. "He felt that he hadn’t done enough to protect the President. That he should have been able to keep him from getting shot." Ron absentmindedly starts to rub his scarred hand. "He too, felt like it was his fault."

Leo stares at Ron and takes in what he has just said. He quickly realizes that Ron is talking about himself. "Ron, you saved the man’s life. If you haven’t reacted as fast as you did..."  Leo shudders at the thought of what might of happened on the night of the shooting.

"I realize that now," Ron looks at Leo. "But for a while, after the shooting, all I could focus on was that he was shot and if I would have acted quicker..." Ron pauses, then stands.

"Ron," Leo stands up too. "Go ahead and tell the agents. I don’t think its going to be much of an issue anymore," Leo says as he glances towards Margaret’s office, "but tell’em anyway."

"Okay. Leo," Ron pauses and glances up at the ceiling for a second. "Another reason I wanted to speak with you is to let you know that when I first met you and Margaret years ago, I thought that... well... I thought that... you two were... but after working with you two here in the White House I realized that I was wrong. I just wanted to tell you that... I’m sorry."

"Ron, you have nothing to be sorry about. The first time we met, and yes, I do remember it by the way, would have lead anybody to that conclusion. I’m not sure you were that far off as it turns out now. I mean nothing happened between Margaret and I until last night, but I think we have been blind to it for years or at least in denial," Leo smiles.

"You’re a very lucky man, Leo." Ron looks down at his shoes and then slowly raises his head back towards Leo, "I could tell that Margaret was special lady the first time I saw her. Congratulations, I hope you’re both very happy together." Ron extends his hand to Leo.

Leo shakes Ron’s Hand. "Thanks, Ron. I couldn’t agree with you more on that. Margaret is something else," Leo acknowledges with a huge grin.

"Leo, um... earlier tonight um..." Ron glances back down at his shoes. "I was in the Video room in the Agency Command Center." Ron pauses and looks back up at Leo. "I just wanted to let you know that we had ...um...a technical problem with the White House cameras recording a particular area of the Residence tonight." 

Leo turns his head to the side and rolls his eyes as his face flushes as he realizes that Ron saw them in the elevator tonight.  He knew that some agent had probably witnessed it, but he’s even more embarrassed that it was Ron. Leo turns his face back to Ron. "Yeah?"

Ron turns his head to the side and smiles at Leo’s uneasiness.  "Yeah, but now there is nothing to worry about."

"Okay, thanks Ron," Leo tells him.

"Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time." Ron turns and heads for the door that leads to hallway. He takes a hold of the doorknob and then turns back to Leo. "There is just one more thing."

"Okay?"

"Leo," Ron hesitates and shifts from one foot to the other. "Thanks for recommending me for this job."

Before a stunned Leo could respond, the fast acting Secret Service agent is out the door. Leo drops back into the couch and wonders how Ron knows about that. He’s pretty sure that only one person could be responsible for that, Mr. White House Gossip, himself. He sits there on the couch for a while and thinks back to the first time he had met Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield.

********** Flashback Spring 1993 **********

Leo and Jenny were attending a charity fundraiser event at a local hotel in the District and he has been drinking. As usual they get into a fight about his drinking at the event and Jenny leaves and goes home without him. Leo stays for a little while longer and spends much of that time drinking. He decides to walk back to his office. The Labor Department is just a few short blocks from the hotel that the fundraiser is being held at and it’s a warm spring night. He can spend the night at the office on his couch. He has done it before. It isn’t the most comfortable couch, but it’s better than going home to Jenny and listening to her yell at him again about his excessive drinking.

He has walked two or three blocks when someone grabs a hold of him and slams him into the wall of a building. His face scrapes along side the building and his hand gets caught on something. The mugger then turns him around and punches him in the face. Leo falls to the ground. Leo didn’t have a chance of defending himself because of the alcohol-induced shape that he is already in.  The man kicks him a couple of times in the ribs and then starts searching him for his wallet. It’s all over in a matter seconds. A passer by finds him and calls the police. The DC Police Officer recognizes him and calls the Secret Service. He’ll let them deal with the drunk and injured Cabinet member.

The agent who responds is Ron Butterfield. He quickly checks Leo over for any signs of serious injuries. He unwraps the bloodied handkerchief from his hand. "Sir, we need to get you to the hospital and get you checked out."

"No," Leo slurs, "I’m fine."

"Sir, your hand could probably use some stitches." The tall clean-cut agent tries to convince him to go to the hospital.

"Naaah, it’s fine." Leo is still drunk, so the pain in his ribs that he is experiencing right now is quite mild right now.

"Mr. McGarry, I really think you should go to the hospital," the patience agent strongly suggests.

"No!" Leo growls. "I’m fine. I just need to lay down somewhere." Leo is starting to get more than just a little annoyed with this agent.

"Sir, what’s your address?" Ron realizes that Leo’s not going to let him take him to the hospital. Maybe his wife will have better luck with him.

"Damnit!" Leo bellows. "I’m not going home. You can take me to my office. I have a couch there, I’ll be fine."

"Sir, you really need to have someone with you, in case..." The agent tries to explain to him.

"I’m not going home!" Leo starts to get up off the curb.

Ron helps him up. "Mr. McGarry, let me take you home."

"NO!" Leo starts to stumble away from him.

Ron grabs a hold of his arm. "Mr. McGarry, I can’t let you walk away. You’re in no shape to be on your own."

"Fine. Then take me to 312 North Twenty-Second Street." Leo finally relents as he sways on his feet.

Ron helps Leo to his car and starts off across the city. The trip takes only a few minutes. Ron pulls up to the building. "Sir, we’re here."

"Okay," Leo mumbles. By the time they get to the address, Leo is starting to sober up a little and the pain in his ribs is starting to make itself known.

Ron helps him up the steps and knocks on the door. "Secret Service Agent, Ron Butterfield." He responds when the voice behind the door asks who it is.

The door opens and reveals a tall redheaded woman in her mid twenties. Who promptly asks what is wrong with Mr. McGarry. Leo can tell that the agent is shocked, but he hides it well.

Margaret escorts Leo to her couch and starts fussing over him. Ron stands in the background and watches. Leo knows what the agent must be thinking, but he is too exhausted and in too much pain now to really care.

Leo watches Margaret and Ron, who have moved across the room. He overhears Ron offer to stay and help and then sees him give Margaret his card. Margaret tries to explain away Leo’s condition and tells the agent that he’s not seeing him at his best. Leo almost snorts at this statement. He hasn’t been at his best in years. The agent politely nods and then tells him goodnight.

Margaret walks back over to Leo and offers him coffee. They sit and drink it, and then Margaret starts cleaning him up. She keeps going on about his hand needing stitches. It isn’t bothering him at all. But the more time that passes, the more sober he gets and the more the pain in his ribs increases, too. When Margaret has him stand up, he doubles over in pain. That’s the last straw for Margaret. She calls Jenny, who conveniently isn’t home, and then Margaret loads him up into her car and takes him to the hospital. After a little over a two-hour wait in the GW emergency room, Leo finally gets x-rayed. He’s getting stitches in his hand from an intern when the results come back.

"Mr. McGarry," the young doctor says, as he walks into the treatment room. "Rib three is cracked and possibly rib four too. We’re going to need to wrap your ribs. You’ll have to keep them like that for a few weeks. You will also need to follow up with your private physician, too. I’m going to write you a prescription for the pain." The doctor flips open a small pad and starts writing. "Is there anyone here to take you home?"

Leo nods his head, "Yeah."

"Okay, then I’m going to give you something for the pain now and then you get the prescription filled tomorrow." The young doctor quickly wraps his ribs.

"Thanks." Leo says to the young doctor’s back as he quickly hurries off to the next patient.

Soon after the doctor leaves a nurse comes in and gives Leo some pills to take for the pain. Then nurse helps him back on with his shirt. Leo walks out to the waiting room to find an anxious Margaret waiting for him. She jumps up the second she sees him and rushes to his side. "Mr. McGarry, are you okay?"

"I’m fine, Margaret," Leo says, as he looks around the waiting room. "Jenny never showed up?"

"No," Margaret shakes her head. "Maybe she didn’t get the message," Margaret said as she bit her bottom lip.

"Yeah, maybe." A dejected Leo softly says, as he reaches over to pick up his coat that is lying on the back on a chair in the waiting room, his face contorts in pain and his hand automatically grabs his injured ribs and he lets out a gasp of pain.

"Mr. McGarry, are you ok?" Margaret picks up the coat for him. "What did the doctor say?"

"I have a couple of cracked ribs." He surrenders as he starts to leave the waiting room.

"And your hand?"

"Only four stitches." Leo looks at his secretary. "I think they just wanted to practice on me. I still say my hand didn’t need any." He holds his throbbing bandaged hand up for her to see.

"Yeah, right. That’s why you keep bleeding all over my floor." Margaret smirks as she takes a hold of his arm and starts to walk him out the door. "Come on, let’s get you home."

"Margaret, umm... could you take me to the office instead. I ..." Leo’s sad pleading eyes are almost her undoing.

"Mr. McGarry, you’re not going to the office. You should go home and get into your bed." Margaret instructs. "And you better not show you face at work for the next couple of days either. You need to rest your ribs. Besides, its Friday night, there is nothing in the office that can’t wait until Monday or even until later into the week. You should take a few days off, Sir."

"Margaret, I’m fine. If I want to go into work this weekend, I will," Leo growls as they make their way through the parking lot. "What are you my mother?" Leo smirks to her.

"Mr. McGarry," a very exasperated Margaret says, "you are, by far, the most stubborn and obstinate man that I have ever worked for." Margaret unlocks her car door, opens it for him and helps him into the car. "Do I have to go over your head to keep you out of the office?"

"Do you realize that you just called me two names that all mean exactly the same thing," Leo snorts, "Besides, who are you going to call? It’s not like you can just pick up the phone and call the President," Leo informs her.

"True, but I can call that nice clean-cut Secret Service agent from tonight. I bet he would love to file a glowing report with the President about what happened tonight. I’m sure you made his list of people he would love never to have to deal with again," Margaret threatens him as she shuts his door.

"Margaret, are you trying to blackmail me?" Leo looks over at his assistant who has now joined him in the car. For the first time he really notices just how beautiful she really is. Maybe it’s the red flush, from her anger, to her cheeks that has made the difference.

Margaret turns the key to the car and glares back at Leo. "You bet your ass I am." She growls back at him as she puts the car into gear and pulls out of its parking spot and makes her way out onto the street.

Leo is taken back by her demeanor. He’s never seen her like this before. What the hell happened to his mild mannered secretary, he thinks. "Okay, take me home," He begrudgingly tells her. He just can’t wait to get home and have Jenny sing her ‘I told you so song’.

The drive to Leo’s house in Chevy Chase takes about thirty minutes. Leo went right to sleep and stayed that way for most of the trip. The pain medicine they gave him at the hospital must have been pretty strong to knock him out that fast. Margaret couldn’t help but think that this was a bad thing and she wishes they hadn’t given him something so strong. Margaret pulls her car into his driveway. "Mr. McGarry, we’re here." She reaches over and gently nudges his arm. "Sir, you’re home."

Leo gradually opens his weary blood shot eyes and glares at his large Tudor style house. "Okay," he quietly says, as reaches for the doorknob on the car and then slowly and painfully turns back towards Margaret and tenderly places a hand on his secretary’s slender arm. "Margaret, .... I umm... thanks for everything tonight... you’re a good girl."

"You’re welcome, Mr. McGarry," she shyly responds to his kindness as she fights off a yawn. She quickly looks at her watch and discovers that it’s now three o’clock in the morning.

"Margaret," Leo smirks. "I think... that after all we have been through tonight, you should start calling me Leo." Leo looks at her with pleading eyes. "Please, I really wish you would."

"Okay," Margaret timidly responds as she lays a soft hand on top of Leo’s hand that is still resting on her arm. Then she pleasantly says, "Leo."

Leo gives her an impish grin. She said his name so sweetly. In a way that he hasn’t heard in it said in such a long time. "Thank you." He gets out of the car and then carefully turns. "I’ll see ya on Monday." He says, as he quickly shuts the door before she has a chance to argue with him.

After that night, things changed between Margaret and him. She no longer was just his secretary. She was more like the force behind the man. Leo still bellowed for her all the time, but she loved to hear him yell her name. They were more like partners than worker and boss. They became quite a team to be reckoned with. She always knew exactly what he needed, right before he needed it. But Leo’s demons wouldn’t leave him alone. Soon after that the mugging Leo hit rock bottom and went into rehab at Sierra Tucson. Margaret covered for him while he was gone. She also kept close tabs on him. He talked to her more than he did his own wife. After he got out of rehab, he only stayed with the Labor Department for a short time. He resigned his Cabinet position and took Margaret into the private sector with him. He couldn’t imagine having everyone else work with him.

Leo also kept tabs of the Secret Service agent, Ron Butterfield that helped him that night that he was mugged. He was impressed with the way the agent had handled a drunken high-ranking Government Official and the whole situation. The agent had been very pleasant and respectful to Margaret. After Leo got back from rehab, he discovered that Ron had been assigned to the President’s security detail and was quickly making a name for himself as a dedicated and resourceful agent. Leo followed the agent’s career with interest, especially after he convinced Jed to run for President. Leo figured that if Jed won, he would need an agent full of compassion and integrity to lead Jed’s security detail.

********** End of Spring 1993 flashback **********

Leo smiles at the memory of the first time that Margaret called him Leo. That was over ten years ago he thinks. He slowly and painfully gets up from the couch and heads for her office. "Well there, are ya ready to go?" Leo walks over to her extra chair and grabs her coat from the back of it.

"Hmm.." A half asleep Margaret responds as her head automatically bobs to the sound of his voice.

Leo walks over to her and places a kiss on top of her hair. "Come on sleepy head, let’s get out of here before anyone else finds us,"  Leo wearily tells her as he breaths in the scent of her hair.

"Okay," Margaret sweetly smiles up at him as she takes the hand that he extends and gets up out of her hard desk chair. "It’s going to be nice to spend a few days away from here," she tells him as she slips back into her coat that Leo is holding out for her.

"Yeah... I was just thinking the same thing, Miss McGuire," Leo says as he guides her with a hand in the small of her back, out of the office.

Margaret gives him a sweet smile. "Good, then let’s go, Mr. McGarry." She coos back at him as they head down the hall, once again, hand in hand.

Leaving White House Grounds

On the Way to Margaret’s Apartment:

9:45 pm

As Leo and Margaret depart the West Wing by the southwest exit, they discover freshly fallen snow jacketing the White House grounds. This delicate white blanket makes for a picturesque but precarious journey to Leo’s car. The frosty pavement does provide the perfect excuse for Margaret to hold onto Leo’s arm, as they make their trek to his coveted parking space.

Once they reach his car, Leo takes Margaret by the hand and helps her into the car. He has to resist the urge to give her a kiss as she settles into her seat. He finally gives in to his impulse and kisses her fingertips. Leo carefully moves around the front of the vehicle and joins her inside. He starts the car and turns on the wipers in an effort to remove the snow from the windshield. The wipers push the snow off the window, but they have no effect on the thin layer of ice that has built up during their visit to the Residence tonight.

"I never can find the damn thing when I need it." Leo complains, as he starts searching the backseat for the ice scraper. "Why the hell did I think it was a good idea to give my driver the night off?"

"Because, it was the right thing to do with it being Christmas Day, Honey," Margaret informs Leo.

"Damnit, the scraper must be in the trunk," Leo huffs as he starts to get out of the car.

Margaret reaches over and places a hand on his arm to stop him. "Leo, we can just wait until the car warms up enough and let the defroster do its job."

"That might take a few minutes. Aren’t you cold?" Leo quivers, as he’s rubbing his gloveless hands together trying to keep them warm.

"Yeah, but I think we can find a way to pass the time and keep ourselves warm at the same time," Margaret seductively whispers while scooting over a little closer to him. She is surprised by her own boldness this evening. This man really brings out the worst in her.

"Margaret," Leo groans. "Are you suggesting the we make out in my car on the White House grounds?" Leo is astounded by the daringness that Margaret displays, once again this evening.

"Yeah."

"Okay," Leo says with interest as, he quickly glances around to see if anyone is lurking about.  "If you insist," Leo continues with a voice full of love and promise.  He promptly forgets about the discomfort from his fall earlier this evening and slides over a little closer to her and pulls her gently into his arms and brushes a soft kiss against her forehead, then the tip of her nose and finally against her inviting lips.  The soft kiss against her lips begins to increase in intensity, and she responds by flicking her tongue against his lower lip.  He moans softy and opens his mouth and moves his tongue to touch hers and accepts hers as it slides into his mouth and begins to gently explore his mouth.  They have been together so much in the last day or so, but it has mostly been a hungry coupling and this is more ... romantic.  He wants more of this tender exploring and getting to know one another. 

He pulls away and smiles and looks into her eyes and brushes his nose against hers like an Eskimo kiss.  "Oh, Margaret you are so beautiful." He then runs his hand through her hair and touches her lips with his thumb and he leans in for another kiss as his hand slowly moves down and under her coat brushing his thumb along her midriff touching the underside of her breast. 

Margaret gaps at the light touch. "Oh, Leo." She says as her hands have moved up and around his neck, she is running her fingers through his hair and pulling him closer and she opens her mouth and sucks gently on his lips and pulls his tongue into her mouth, encouraging him to explore her mouth.  They are in a full embrace, fully enjoying their playful and romantic kisses, when a sharp knock on Leo’s window forces them quickly apart. Leo peers out the window and then presses the button to let the window down.

"Mr. McGarry, are you having car trouble?" The Secret Service agent asks, as he leans down and looks overtop the car window.

"Um... no Coop, we’re just waiting for the windshield to clear," Leo nonchalantly comments with a slight blush on his face.

"Oh... I’m sorry, Sir," Coop stammers. "I didn’t see you in there Miss McGuire. I’ll leave you two alone then. Goodnight Mr. McGarry, Miss McGuire," Coop says, with almost the hint of a grin appearing at the corners of his mouth. He straightens back up and starts to walk away from the car.

"Goodnight Coop," Leo replies closing the window. Leo turns to face Margaret who is blushing and leans back over to her. "Now, where were we?"

"Leo," Margaret squeals and tries to scoot away him. "Do you think he saw us?" She asks with a panicked look on her face.

"Maybe, probably," Leo mutters. "But he’s paid to keep secrets, so you shouldn’t worry about it." He’s been holding her hand and running his fingers around hers while they talked to Coop. He moves back over towards her and tries to gather her up into his arms again. "Besides it’s all your fault we were caught in this predicament. I was perfectly willing to get the scraper out of the trunk and clean off the window, but no, you’re the one who wanted to mess around," Leo mocks, as he places a gentle kiss on her neck and nuzzles into her, enjoying the smell of her perfume.

"Yeah, well, you were the one who was in the military, so you should have heard him coming!" Margaret smirks trying to push the blame onto Leo as she wiggles out of his arms to give the look that just melts his heart.

"I flew planes! I was never on the ground," Leo explains. Well, he was, but he isn’t going to get into that with her right now or maybe never.

"Well, you still should have heard him," she snorts, as she still keeps her distance from him. "You’re the man!"

"Yes, I am and let me prove it," Leo offers, as he manages to get a hold of her squirming body and pulls her into his arms. Leo kisses her with such fervor that she instantly calms in his arms. He stops his assault and pulls back and breathlessly asks, "Well, what do you think of that?"

"Mmmm..." Margaret sighs, touching her soft lips that are swollen with passion and then his tender lips with the tips of her fingers. "I think the windshield’s clear now, so we should probably be going."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. But, we’re in agreement as to who the man is, right?" Leo affirms, as he gently kisses her on the cheek.

"Oh, yeah." She leans forward and enticingly breathes into his ear and then licks and nibbles on his earlobe.

"Okay, as long as I made my point clear," He agrees, while a shiver runs through his body, from her affectionately gnawing on his ear. He knows in his heart that she has total control over him and he wouldn’t have it any other way. It takes a few seconds to regain his composure, and then he moves back under the steering wheel and turns on the wipers. This time they do their job and Leo puts the car in drive and heads for the gate. As they are leaving the White House grounds, Leo grins to Margaret. "You know, you’re good at getting me into compromising situations here at work."

"You mean, like tonight in you office?" Margaret innocently replies as she playfully pats him on the leg. She still can’t believe that she attacked him like that in his office tonight.

"Yeah, like tonight," Leo mimics. "Then there’s that other time that you had me in my office with my pants down around my ankles."

At first Margaret stares back at him with a blank look on her face, then she realizes what Leo’s talking about and warmly smiles. "You know tonight was a lot more satisfying than the last time I had your pants off, in your office," Margaret whispers in Leo’s ear, as he drives though the checkpoint and makes the turn onto Seventeenth Street.

Margaret’s mind drifts back to the only other time that she had Leo’s pants down in his office and she wishes that the first time had never occurred, but they say that all things happen for a reason and it did set this whole thing in motion, those many months ago. The first time Leo experienced this dilemma was during early morning hours after Zoey’s kidnapping.

********** Flashback June 2003 **********

When Ron Butterfield informed Leo that Zoey was missing, he took off running to inform his best friend that his youngest daughter was missing. Leo’s run took him from the Situation Room, through the main hall by the Roosevelt Room, through his own office, the Oval Office, out onto the portico and then up to the Residence. Somewhere, during his run down the portico, Leo went sprawling face first on the uncompromising concrete.

Margaret’s aware that something terrible has happened, because she witnessed a portion of Leo’s run. She was standing by Leo’s desk when he came running through his office, followed closely, on his heels, by Ron Butterfield. She had been frozen in her tracks, at the sight of Leo running, so it never dawned on her to follow. If she had pursued them, she would have observed Leo’s fall.

Within a few minutes of Leo’s run, a Secret Service agent made the rounds informing the senior staff offices what had happened. The only details that the agent provided were that Zoey Bartlet is missing and that there’s a dead agent at the scene.

Margaret decides to wait at her desk in case Leo needs anything. She knows that eventually he will come back to his office and she wants to be there for him. She knows that Zoey’s kidnapping is going to hit him hard. Carol was by earlier and informed Margaret that Leo had been in to see CJ before she had briefed the nation, and then he had gone back down to the Situation Room. Carol also mentioned that was Leo was scraped up and that she’d heard that he had fallen on the portico. Margaret is concerned about his state of mind and his physical condition.

It’s almost been two hours since Margaret received word about Zoey and she is still sitting at her desk when Ron Butterfield appears in front of her. She doesn’t realize anyone is in the room until Ron speaks up.

"Margaret."

"Ron," An anxious Margaret jumps up. "Does Leo need me?" She reaches for her notepad and starts to come out from behind her desk

A very solemn Ron shakes his head. "No, Margaret."  He continues, as he holds up a hand to stop her. "I don’t have a lot of time. The President sent me down here."

"Oh, Ron. How are the President and Mrs. Bartlet doing?" Her voice is deeply lined with concern.

Once again, Ron shakes his head, "Not very good at the moment."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Margaret asks.

"Yes," Ron seems uneasy. "When Leo and I were running down the portico earlier tonight, he fell."

"Ron, is he okay? Carol was in here earlier and told me that he looks bad and that she had heard that he umm... fell."

"He’s scraped up. I tried to assess his injuries, after he fell, but he pulled away. Once we got in the elevator, I was able to force him to let me look him over a little. Mostly cuts and scrapes, but he’s moving very gingerly and seems to be in some pain."

"Ron, can’t you get a medic down to the Sit Room and have him examined?" Margaret advises the tall Secret Service agent who is standing very uncomfortably in front of her.

"Margaret, that’s why I’m here. The President asked me to come down and see if you could convince Leo to be examined. No one else has had any luck at getting him to stop moving long enough."

"Okay, I’ll try. He can be very stubborn when he wants to be." Margaret thinks of another time that Ron and she had to deal with a scraped up Leo McGarry.

"Yes, he can," Ron hesitates. Since he is the head agent for the President’s protection, he has access to everyone’s security investigations. He has read Leo’s Air Force service file and he knows the full details surrounding Leo’s war injury. He’s not sure if Margaret knows any of the particulars concerning his injury. So he’s apprehensive about how much information he should give her concerning Leo. Ron decides to play it safe and just stress that Leo took a nasty fall. "Margaret, he... hit the concrete at full speed. I was really amazed that he was able to get back up under his own strength."

"Okay, Ron, if he every comes back to the office, I’ll take care of it." A worried Margaret reassures him.

"Thanks, Margaret. I need to get back." Ron quickly turns around and starts to head out the door.

"Ron, will you tell the President, um... tell him..."

"I know Margaret, I’ll let him know."

"Thanks, Ron."

After a couple of minutes, she gets up quickly and heads towards the White House medic room. She gathers up some first aid supplies and heads back for her desk. She wants to be there in case Leo needs her. Margaret sits back down at her desk and processes the information she received earlier from Ron. But her mind wanders back to another time that she had taken care of a scraped up Leo McGarry.

********** Flashback Spring 1993 **********

It has been a rare day for Margaret. She actually gets off work early, well really it’s more like on time, and has spent to whole evening at her apartment catching up on some chores and returning long overdue phone calls, but mostly just relaxing. She has just changed into her pajamas when there is a knock at the door. Margaret looks at her clock and it’s ten o’clock. She goes to the door and looks out the peephole. She sees a tall, thin, clean-cut man in a dark suit with piercing eyes. He’s holding up a badge. There is a much shorter man standing next to him, but his back is turned to her.

"Who is it?" Margaret cautiously asks

"Agent Ron Butterfield from the Secret Service, Ma’am. I have Leo McGarry with me." Ron looks at Leo and has him turn around.

Margaret opens the door, just as Leo is turning around. "Mr. McGarry, what happened?" She motions for them to come into her apartment. She takes a hold of Leo’s arm and guides him to her couch.

"He was mugged. He wouldn’t let me take him to the hospital or to his home. He requested I bring him here." Ron’s expression didn’t change at all as he filled her in on the details. "He’s got some scrapes and bruises that appear to be superficial. But, he has a cut on his hand that probably could use a couple of stitches, but he was insistent about being brought here."

"I don’t need any stitches." Leo slurs, as he looks up at Margaret. "I’m fine."

"Mr. McGarry, let me see your hand." Margaret kneels down next to the couch and extends her hand to Leo. Leo gives her his hand and she removes the bloodied handkerchief that is wrapped around it. Margaret examines the wound. "You need to get this checked by a doctor, Mr. McGarry."

"No!" Leo says as he struggles to get up off the couch. "I don’t need to see any damn doctor."

Margaret puts a hand out and forces him to stay seated. "Mr. McGarry, please calm down."

"Ma’am, do you need me to stay?" Ron asks Margaret in a very even and caring voice.

"No thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself, I’m Margaret McGuire his secretary," she says in a strained voice as she stands and walks over to the agent. "I can handle him. Thanks again for bringing him here."

"Okay, Miss McGuire. I'll be going then." Ron heads for the door.

"Margaret," She follows him to the door. "Please call me Margaret."

"Okay, Margaret, are you sure you’ll be okay?" Ron asks her as he reaches the door and turns back to look at Leo.

"I’ll be fine. He... sometimes comes here when... he can’t go home." Margaret says apprehensively as she bits down on her lower lip.

 Ron pulls a card from his wallet and hands it to Margaret. "Call me if you need to, okay?"

"Thanks, you know he’s... not always like... he really is a very brilliant man... you’re just not seeing him at his best right now." Margaret replies as she reaches out and takes his card.

Ron turns towards the couch. "Goodnight, Mr. McGarry."

Leo answers back with something that is inaudible and he slouches further into the couch.

"Margaret, it was nice meeting you, goodnight." Ron opens the door and is gone before Margaret can say anything else.

Margaret heads back to the couch. "Mr. McGarry, why do you do this to yourself?" She sits down next to him on the couch.

"Do what?" Leo mumbles back to her as he sits back up a little bit. He smells of alcohol.

"Do you want me to get you some coffee?" Margaret asks as she gets up off the couch and heads for her kitchen.

"Yeah," he mutters.

"Okay, I’ll be back in a minute." Margaret gets up off the couch and goes into her kitchen. She turns on her coffee maker and then heads for her bathroom. She gathers up some first aid supplies and walks back into her living room. Leo hasn’t moved from his spot. She puts done the supplies and returns to the kitchen. The coffee is ready. She pours two cups and head back to the couch. She hands Leo a cup.

"Here, careful it’s hot." She warns him.

Leo gives her a look and takes the cup. He immediately takes a sip. "Thanks." He continues to drink his coffee.

Margaret sits down on the opposite end of the couch. "Finish that and then I’ll clean up your scrapes. I still think you need to go to the hospital." Margaret is torn between wanting to wring his neck for showing up at her apartment drunk again and wanting to take him in her arms and tell him that it will be ok.

Leo turns to her and grumbles, "I’m fine." Leo drinks the rest of his coffee and is starting to sober up some. He stares at Margaret at the other end of the couch. "I’m sorry, it’s just that I couldn’t..."

"Mr. McGarry, it’s okay. Let’s get you cleaned up." She goes to work on his face. He has cut lip and a small scrape on his chin.

"Ouch!, Margaret, what the hell is in that stuff?" Leo yells, as he recoils back against the couch.

"Shh I need to clean these out."

Next, Margaret moves to his hand. She cleans it and puts a band-aid on it. It’s still bleeding and takes no time at all to soak through the band-aid. She takes it back off and puts on a larger one with some gauze underneath it. "Sir, I really think it needs stitches."

"It’ll be ok."

"Why don’t you stand up and let met get you out of your tux jacket." Margaret stands up in front of him. "Do you hurt anywhere besides the scrapes and bruises that I can see?"

Leo starts to get up off the couch and is having some difficulty. He lets out a pained moan as he rises off the couch and promptly doubles over and grabs his side.

Margaret is right by his side in a second. "Mr. McGarry, are you okay?"

Leo sinks back down into the couch. "I’m fine." He pants out between pained breaths.

"That’s it. I’m taking you to the hospital and I’m calling Mrs. McGarry."  Margaret instructs him.

"No, don’t call Jenny. She doesn’t give a damn anyway and I’m not going to any hospital."

"Sir, you are too going!" Margaret raises her voice to match his. "And I am calling your wife."

"Fine," he huffs.

Margaret places a call to Mrs. McGarry, only to find her not at home. Margaret is pretty sure that Ruth, their maid, was told to lie. So, she just leaves a message with her. Next, she gets Leo out to her car and heads to the hospital.

By the time they arrive at George Washington University Hospital, Leo is more sober and is in a lot more pain, too. He’s finally willing to admit that there might be something wrong. Margaret helps him out of the car. They spend a couple hours waiting. So by the time, Leo sees the doctor. He is completely sober and is really in a bad mood. It turns out he does have a couple of cracked ribs. They wrap his ribs, stitch up his hand and release him. Since Jenny hasn’t shown up at the hospital, Leo tries to get Margaret to take him to the office, but she refuses. Finally after some argument, Leo let’s Margaret drive him to his home.

********** End of Spring 1993 Flashback **********

When Leo finally gets back to his office, from the Situation Room, Margaret is shocked by his appearance. He has a scratch on the side of his face, his suit jacket sleeve is torn and the knees of his pants are scuffed and ripped. Leo motions for her to follow him into his office. He sits her down and tells her about Zoey’s kidnapping. For the first time, in a very long time, in Margaret’s career as Leo’s assistant, she doesn’t know what to do. She just sits there and stares back at him. Finally she gets up and tries to get him to let her check his injuries, but he tells her that he is too busy for that now.

"Leo, I went down to the medic’s office earlier and got some first aid supplies. Why don’t you let me clean up your scrapes?" Margaret gets up from the couch and is moving towards the door to her area.

"Margaret, they’re just a couple of scratches, I have more important things to do right now." Leo sits there and stares at her. He’s not going to attempt to get up out of his chair in front of her. He knows that it will be a struggle and he doesn’t want her to know how much pain he is really in.

Margaret stops and turns to face him. "It won’t take but a couple of minutes, Leo." She informs him.

"Margaret, I said no!" Leo’s voice is starting to show his anger. "I have several things I need to be doing for ‘him’ right now."

"Two minutes, Leo, I think you can spare two minutes," Margaret says in an exasperated voice.

"Margaret! I don’t have time for this," Leo demands in a very gruff voice. Leo has momentarily forgotten about the pain in his hip and jumps up out of his chair during his out burst. He heads for his desk, grabs the phone and angrily punches in a number and turns to face Margaret who is still staring draggers at him. "Stop fussing over me!"

"Fine, well at least let me get you something for the pain and swelling," Margaret answers right back, since she’s not, in the least bit, put off by his gruffness. She knows he’s hurting and upset from the news of Zoey’s kidnapping. She marches out to her area and grabs a couple of pills from her purse and heads right back into the lion’s den.

"Here," she instructs, holding out them out in her hand, "take these."

Leo’s just gotten off the phone and is now sitting behind his desk, when Margaret walks back into his office. When she speaks, he looks up from the pictures of the five missing Bahji sleepers that he’s been studying and reaches out his hand. He suddenly realizes that she’s trying to give him pills and he just glares at her as he quickly withdraws his hand.

Margaret finally realizes her mistake. "Oh my God, Leo, I’m so sorry... I wasn’t thinking..." She apologizes profusely as she quickly drops her outstretched hand to her side. She doesn’t have a good grip on the pills and they go flying across his floor. Margaret immediately goes after them, crawling around on Leo’s office floor, tears quickly come to her eyes and she lets out a quick sob. ‘Damnit, how could I have been so insensitive’, she thinks to herself as she gathers up the last pill and starts to get back up off the floor. Leo comes around from behind his desk, and reaches down to help Margaret up.

"Margaret, it’s okay." Leo helps her up off the floor and hangs onto her arm.

"Leo, I’m... so sorry...  I’ll get you some liquid Motrin. I have some in my desk that I keep for you. I don’t know what I was thinking..." She tries to pull out of Leo’s grip, but he doesn’t let go.

"Margaret, don’t worry about it. We’ve all just a little rattled right now," He tells her as he finally relinquishes his hold on her arm and steps back behind his desk. "If you’ll bring me some of the liquid stuff and some water, I’ll take it. Okay."

"Okay, I’ll be right back." Margaret quickly bobs her head, turns and hurries out to his office.

Leo carefully eases himself into his desk chair.

Margaret goes to her desk and gets the Motrin out. She checks the date, because it’s been a while since she has given some to Leo. She then pours out the correct dosage for an adult. The phone rings. It startles her and she spills the medicine. "Damnit!" She says, as she reaches for the phone. "Leo McGarry’s office."

"Margaret, it’s me, Mallory."

"Hi... Mal," she says as she sits down in her chair. She’s not sure whether Leo is in the mood to talk with anyone right now, even his only daughter. "Do you want to talk to your father?"

"No, I’ve already talked to Daddy. I called him on his cell phone when I first heard the news." Mallory pauses. "I have been trying to get though to you for hours, but all the lines into the White House have been tied up. I keep getting that annoying all circuits are busy recording."

"Mal, what can I do for you?" Margaret eyes the mess on her desk and decides it can wait.

"I... was just .... I wanted to see how Daddy was." Mallory pauses. "All I ever get from him is ‘I’m fine’."

"Yeah, he does say that a lot. Doesn’t he?" Margaret quips.

"I know that I can depend on you to tell me the truth," Mallory tells her from the other end of the phone line.

"Mal he’s very upset, of course," Margaret’s voice has a hint of tears in it. "He’s been in the Situation Room, most of the time. He just got back here to the office a couple of minutes ago." Margaret nervously plays with the cord on the phone. She’s not sure if she should tell her about his fall.

Mallory senses that Margaret is upset and has been crying. "Margaret, what aren’t you telling me? Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine... but... he fell tonight... When he was running to tell the President about Zoey," Margaret relents.

"Is he okay? How bad is it? Should I come over?" Mallory fires back quickly to Margaret.

"He basically fine, mostly scraped up. No, you probably couldn't get in here anyway," Margaret, informs her.

"Did someone check him out for injuries? You know him, he won’t admit that he’s hurt."

"Mallory, he hasn’t slowed down long enough to hardly even breath, but I will promise you this. I will be make sure that he gets checked out and gets his scrapes taken care of very soon."

"I don’t doubt that, Margaret," Mallory sighs into the phone. She knows that Margaret will take care of her father. "You always have and always will take care him, won’t you?"

"Yes," Margaret pauses, "Yes I will." She hopes that her voice does give her away. If anyone would ever be the one to figure out how she feels about Leo, it would be Mallory.

Mallory hears the underlining tones of love in Margaret’s voice but decides that now is not the time to mention it. She used to tease her about having feelings for her father some time after the divorce, but she stopped when Jordan entered the picture. "I just want you to know that I don't worry about him as much, because I know that you are around to take care of him." Mal continues, "I know that you're the one who got him through the divorce, he told me so." Mallory breathes a heavy sigh. "I know how hurt he was when Mom didn't call and check on him after the shooting. I noticed a change in him after that."

"Mal, your father really loved your mother, never think that he didn't," Margaret points out to Leo’s daughter.

"Yeah, well, I know of some times you were the one who was there for him, when it should have been my Mother."

"Mal..."

Mallory interrupts, "Margaret, I know about the mugging when he was Secretary of Labor," Mallory informs her.

"Mal your Mom was upset, they had..." Margaret tries to explain, she wasn’t even sure if Mallory was even aware of what happened that night.

"Yeah a fight, I know, I may have only been a teenager in high school, but I know what was going on. A fight, still doesn't excuse her from not going to the hospital." Mallory’s voice rises in volume and anger. She pauses for a couple of seconds and regains her composure. "Margaret, I’m sorry. I’m just..."

"Frustrated," Margaret finishes the sentence for her. She knows exactly how Mallory feels. "I know Mal, I am too."

"Margaret, I know that you have taken care of my father for years and I appreciate all you have done for him. He wouldn’t be where he is today, if you haven’t been by his side all these years."

"Mallory," rolls off of Margaret’s lips.

Mallory breaks in. "It’s true, I know it. You know it and he knows it too. I just need for you to be there again for him now."

"You know I will." Margaret informs her.

"I know," Mallory pauses. "I just had to say it."

"Mal, as a matter of fact, I was just heading into his office to give him some Motrin and then in a bit I’m going to personally see that his scrapes get cleaned up."

"I’m sure he’ll love that," Mallory smirks. Her father loves to take medicine almost as much as he loves to take a vacation. "I should let you go then."

"Mal, don’t worry about your Dad, I’ll take care of him. I’ll call you in the morning and let you know how he’s doing."

"Okay, thanks Margaret. Love ya."

Margaret smiles at the way Mallory says ya, she sounds just like her Dad when she says it. "Love you too, Sweetie. Bye."

"Bye."

Margaret hangs up the phone and repours some medicine for Leo. She’s cleaning up her mess and still chastising herself for trying to give Leo pills, when Toby enters her area.

"Is he in?"  Toby asks, with his patented Toby frown as he tilts his head to one side.

"Yeah, he’s in," Margaret answers. "But let me take this to him first and then you can see him."

Toby eyed the children’s medicine in her hand with a puzzled look on his face. "That’s for Leo?"

"Yeah, he fell earlier tonight," Margaret, confides to Toby.

"When?"

"He fell on the portico when he was running to tell ..." Margaret stops. There’s no reason to tell Toby why he was running.

"Is he okay?"

"He won’t stop long enough for me to check," Margaret answers in an exasperated voice, "And just a second ago, I tried to give him pills. Toby, what the hell’s wrong with me?"

At first, Toby stares blankly at Margaret, then it dawns on him as to why offering pills to Leo was such a bad idea. "Margaret, I’m sure Leo understood."

"He said he did, but God Toby, how could I make such a stupid mistake? I’ve like only worked for the man for over twelve years!" She declares, as the tears build up in her eyes. "I was there when he was abusing pills, I was there when he got out of rehab, and I have the recovery guidelines memorized, what the hell was I thinking...?" Margaret can’t continue, she lowers her head and blinks as the tears start to fall freely down her face.

"Margaret," Leo bellows from inside his office.

Margaret’s head jerks back up. "Sorry, Toby," as she quickly grabs a tissue and tries to wipe away the evidence from her face and takes a couple seconds to regain her composure. "Let me give him this and then you can see him," She tells Toby before she scurries into Leo’s office.

"Here, Leo," she softly instructs, as she walks back into his office. She places the medicine and water bottle on his desk and quickly turns to beat a hasty retreat.

"Margaret," Leo says quietly, "Don’t worry about it." He feels bad that he yelled at her earlier, when she was just trying to be helpful.

Margaret bobs her head and starts to leave his office but then quickly turns back around again. "Oh, I almost forgot. Toby’s here, can you see him?"

"Yeah, send him in," Leo relents as he slowly moves from behind his desk and towards his wing back chair. "Margaret, you can go home now," Leo advises, as he gingerly sits down.

Margaret’s been standing in the doorway watching Leo make his trek from his desk to his chair. She can tell by the way he’s shuffling that he’s in some pain. When Leo tells her to go home, she gives him a very piercing look and reiterates her famous motto. "I go home when you go home." Before Leo can reply, she disappears through the door.

"Toby, he can see you now," she sits back down at her desk and tries to keep her mind on her work.

Margaret finally corners Leo after Toby left his office around three-thirty in the morning.

She enters his office with some first aid materials that she has gotten from the White House medic. "Leo, you’ve got time now, let me clean up your scratches."

"Margaret, I’m fine," Leo informs her in an annoyed tone. He still doesn’t want to take the time and have her look at him. And he knows that it’s going to sting. He still remembers the last time she cleaned up his scrapes.

"Leo McGarry, germs aren’t aware that you’re the White House Chief of Staff with no time to spare, so they’re not going to think twice about giving you a nasty infection." Margaret walks over and places the first aid supplies on the coffee table next to the chair where Leo is sitting.

"I’m not getting out of this, am I?" Leo raises his weary eyes at her.

"You bet your ass you’re not," Margaret responds.

"Yeah." Leo leans his head back on the chair and turns his face to one side to give Margaret better access to it. "Go ahead, knock yourself out." He’s just too tired to fight with her about this anymore.

Margaret opens up the disinfectant and puts some on a cotton ball and starts to clean the long scrape on his face.

"Ouch, Margaret. That stings!" He recoils in his chair a little. "Where the hell did you get that stuff?"

"Sorry." Margaret bites down on her lower lip and continues to clean out Leo’s wound. "I got it from the medic."

After she’s satisfied that the abrasion on his face is clean, she moves her attention to the palms of his hands. Both of them have some skin missing and one has some small pieces of grit in it. "Leo, you’ve got grains of concrete in your hand. You should have gone to the medic and let him remove them."

"I thought I’d gotten them all out," Leo looks down at his palms with disinterest. "Can’t you just use some teasers and get them out?"

"Leo, I’m not a trained..." Margaret stops when she sees the pleading look in Leo’s eyes. "Okay, but this might hurt."

Margaret successfully removes all the debris from Leo’s palm and then she proceeds to his knees. She carefully pushes up both trouser legs over his knees and then cleans the scrapes on them. He has lost most of the skin on both knees, so the disinfectant is really stinging and Leo is squirming in his chair. That’s when Margaret notices a tear in his pants on his thigh. This tear is actually showing a fair amount of blood around it. "Leo, did you cut your thigh too?"

Leo glances down at his pants and notices the tear at his right pants pocket. He’d been having pain there but has been ignoring it. "Looks like it." He answers indifferently. "My keys must have dug into me when I fell. You’re not going to be able to pull my pants leg up that far," Leo chuckles, thinking that he’s gotten out of having that one cleaned out.

Margaret stares at Leo. How’s she going to get to that one and clean it out? She can’t trust Leo to take care of it himself. There’s only one way that she can think of and Leo’s not going to like it. Margaret’s face turns red just at the thought of her idea. She’s dreamed many times about getting Leo out of his pants, but not in this manner. "Leo... um are you wearing boxers today?" Margaret asks, as a blush creeps over her face. She knows that he is, because that’s all she’s ever seen in his dresser at his hotel.

"Margaret, how do you know what I wear?" Leo asks, as he straightens up in his chair at the sudden realization of what she’s about to propose.

"Duh, I’ve packed your clothes for most of your trips these past three years and I’ve brought several changes of clothes from your hotel to work, too. Do you think your underwear just magically appears in your luggage and here at work?"

"Yeah," He smirks. "I guess I never really thought about it. And yes, I’m wearing boxers."

Margaret stands up and takes a step back from Leo’s chair and glares down at him. "Well, Leo, I know I can’t trust you to have that looked at." She points to his thigh.

"Margaret!" Leo says, with an alarmed look on his face. He knows he’s about to lose his pants.

"Leo, we’re both adults here, so stand up and drop'em," She says, trying to keep any sound desire from creeping into her voice.

"Margaret, I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll..." Leo stares at Margaret who’s standing in front of him shaking her head ‘no’ with a very obstinate look on her face. Leo realizes that he’s lost this battle. This woman standing in front of him can be so stubborn, especially when it comes to his well-being. "Well, all right. But could you at least close and lock the doors? All I need, right now, is for one of President Walken’s people to come bounding in here and find me with my pants down around my ankles, in front of my beautiful assistant," Leo smirks.

Margaret blushes at Leo’s statement and gives him a small smile of thanks, as she walks over to the three doors in his office, closes and locks them. She walks back over and stands in front of Leo, who is still sitting in his chair, and crosses her arms and gawks at him. "Leo."

"Okay." Leo stands up and his face grimaces in pain. The stiffness and soreness is starting to set into his body from the fall. He slides his suspenders down off his shoulders, undoes his buckle, fastener and then his zipper. He lets his pants fall to the floor as he quickly pulls his shirttail down to cover himself in the front.

Margaret can’t help but smile at Leo’s modesty. She steps over to him and moves his shirttail out of the way to get a better view of his injury. "Oh Leo, that’s gotta hurt?" she gasps, as she lays a comforting hand on his thigh.

Leo’s leg involuntarily flinches when Margaret lays her hand on his thigh. "Yeah, it does a little," he admits, as he tries very hard not to think about her hand resting on his thigh.

Margaret’s still inspecting the damage, which is more like a puncture wound, and finds the surrounding area already turning black and blue. His keys really did a number on his thigh. She pushes his boxers up a little higher on his thigh to see if they are any more damage at the top of his thigh. She doesn’t see any more, but she notices what appears to be a surgical scar that starts at the top of his hip and runs several inches down the side of his thigh. Margaret tries unsuccessfully not to stare.

"Leo, it’s kind of deep," she gasps, "I think you might require more first aid than I can provide."

"It’s okay Margaret, just go ahead and clean it out and then you can just slap a band aid on it." Leo looks down to where Margaret is looking. ‘Damnit’, he curses to himself, he’d forgotten about the scar on his hip.  Leo knows what she’s thinking and he reaches down and lifts her chin up towards him. He’s never before touched her face this intimately. Her skin is so soft under his fingertips. "Margaret, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it."

Margaret slowly nods her head okay. She knows that he’s not talking about where his keys dug into him, he’s referring to his injuries that he received in the war. "Okay, but it’s probably going to really sting." 

‘Not as much as that stuff that Kenny sprinkled on my leg did,’ Leo thinks to himself. "It’ll be fine," Leo gazes into her eyes.

Margaret gets up and gets the disinfectant. Leo flinches a little bit as she cleans out the wound. Next, she applies some antibiotic cream on it and then covers it up with a large square band-aid. She backs away and studies her work. "I think that will do. Now, lets get you a change of pants. Take your shoes off and step out of those ripped pants."  She starts to walk to Leo’s closet.

Leo starts to bend down to take his shoes off but stops suddenly as pain crosses his face and a grunt escapes his lips.

"Leo, are you okay?" She rushes to his side.

"I’m..." But, before he could utter another word, Margaret stops him.

"Don’t you dare say, you’re fine!"  She advises in a very concerned voice.

"Margaret, look, I’m old and I fell flat on my face, things are gonna hurt for a while, okay?"

"Do you think you broke your ribs again?"

"No, they’re fine, I’m just sore and it hurts to bend over." He knows he didn’t break his ribs, because they’re not hurting him. His hip is what’s causing him the most pain, but he doesn’t want to tell her that.

"Yeah," Margaret snorts.  "Well, I remember the last time you told me that. So why should I believe you now?"

It takes Leo a second to figure out what she’s talking about. "Yeah, well the last time my ribs was only cracked, but they were also hurting. My ribs are not hurting this time." Leo informs her.

"Okay, but what almost caused you to double over in pain this time, if it’s not your ribs?" Margaret isn’t going to let it drop. She promised Mallory she would take care of him and she is not about to let her down.

"Margaret!" Leo growls. "There’s nothing that can be done and lets just leave it at that."

Margaret stands her ground. "Listen, I talked to Mallory tonight and she asked me to make sure you where okay," Margaret informs him. "So, for the sake of your daughter, tell me what hurts."

Leo’s face turns somber at the mention of his daughter’s name. "What did you tell her?" He softly asks.

"She asked how you were." Margaret replies. "I won’t lie to her. I told her you fell and that you were basically okay. I also told her I would take care of you. Now, let me keep my promise."

"Okay," Leo knows he can’t fight her and his daughter. "My hip is sore. Its NOT broken, its just... please there’s... nothing to worry about. It will be fine in a couple of days. Okay?" Leo pleads with her.

Margaret stares back at Leo. His face implores her to let it drop. She decides to let him have his way for right now. But she will keep a close eye on him. If he doesn’t show improvement in a day or two, she will get Ron to get some agents and frog march Leo out of the White House and off to the hospital. "Okay," she concedes. "You still need to change your pants. Let me untie your shoes for you." Margaret kneels down and unlaces his wingtips. As she is untying his shoes, she notices as rather large ragged scar on his right shin. His lower leg appears to be a little crooked too. She glances at his other leg and it appears to be straight. She hesitates as she looks at his right leg again and wonders how it got bowed below his knee and how he got such a rough looking scar. "Okay, you can step out of them now," she says, as she holds onto to his shoes.

Leo obediently steps out of shoes and pants.  He watches her with interest as she picks up his pants and walks over to his closet and pulls out the garment bag that contains his extra suit. She places the bag on his table and unzips it. She pulls the pants off the hanger and switches the suspenders from one pair of pants to the other. Then she walks over to Leo. She bends down and he places a hand on her shoulder for balance while she holds his pants for him and he steps into them. While they are still around his ankles, she has him step back into his shoes and she laces them up.

"Is that okay or are they too tight," she asks him.

"They’re fine. Thanks." He returns.

"Leo, do you need me to pull your pants up for you?" She refuses to look him in the eye while she asks him.

"Yeah." He softly answers.

Margaret carefully pulls up his pants over his scraped knees and up to his waist. She’s very careful not to let her fingertips touch his bare skin. She is rather tense while she is pulling up his pants. She’s so close to his body and it is really having an effect on her.

Leo takes a hold of the pants from her and their fingers brush against one another. This intimate touch sends shivers though Margaret’s body. She walks away and turns her back to give him some privacy while he finishes with his pants. Margaret can’t stop thinking about Leo’s scars that she just saw again while helping him on with his pants. She believes that these scars had to come from the war. She also knows that the pain from them runs deep into his soul.

"Thanks Margaret," He quickly fastens and zips up his pants. "You’ve got a great bedside manner," Leo smirks, as he pulls his suspenders back up over his shoulders.

Margaret turns back around and faces him. There are unshed tears in her eyes. "Leo?"

"Please don’t," Leo softly says, as he rises up a hand towards her. "It doesn’t matter."

Margaret bobs her head and quickly heads for the door that leads to her area.

Leo reaches out and softly grabs her by the arm to stop her from leaving and turns her towards him. "Margaret, really... it’s nothing to bother yourself with," He pleads with her.

"But, I do... I worry about you," Margaret shyly admits. If he only knew how much she cared about him. But that was just a pipe dream of hers that was never going to happen.

"I know, but you shouldn’t." Leo wonders what he ever did to deserve such a loving, caring, and devoted assistant like Margaret.

"Leo?" Margaret timidly asks.

"Yeah," Leo dryly answers. He can read Margaret like a book when she gets like this, so he knows what’s coming next.

"Leo, are those scars from the war?" She softly asks.

"Yeah," he scarcely breathes out.

"Is that... why you... umm... limp sometimes?" Margaret sympathetically asks, as she slowly glances at his right leg. She knows that she’s probably stepped over the line, but she has so many questions that she wants to ask him about it.

Leo slowly nods his head. "Yeah," He softly relents, as he loosens his grip on her arm and slowly lets his hand slide down the length of her arm until he reaches her hand and gently squeezes it.

Margaret returns Leo’s squeeze. "Okay." She says, as she tries once again to leave his office.

"Margaret." Leo sighs.

She turns back around at the sound of his voice and gazes intently into his eyes.

"You’re a good girl," Leo’s voice is husky with emotion.

She bobs her head and leaves.

********** End of June 2003 Flashback **********

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

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