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Disclaimers and Warnings in part One |
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Title: A good heart is hard to find Part Four
Ellie Cunningham was a 30-year veteran of nursing. She thought she�d seen everything. And she had seen the White House. But only from the outside. She had never even been on a tour. Unless you counted the one when she was a schoolchild. And she had only the vaguest memories of the trip. She arrived at the front gate after walking from the bus stop. �Good morning young man. I�m here to see Dr Dan Jamieson.� �Do you have your drivers� licence, ma�am?� �No. I don�t have one.� The security guard decided to check what to do. He was new and didn�t want to be responsible for a bloodbath if he let a terrorist into the West Wing. He picked up the telephone. �Dr Jamieson? There�s a Mrs Ellie Cunningham here to see you. She doesn�t have any ID. Do you want me to ask her to wait?� �Please do. And tell her I�ll be down in a couple of minutes.� Dan walked quickly out of the West Wing and down the path to the security guard�s booth. Ellie Cunningham saw her and smiled. �Dr Jamieson, I�m sorry to put you to this trouble. I didn�t know they needed ID.� Dan hugged the older woman. �It�s no trouble. Thank you for coming.� �Are you unwell?� Dan shook her head. �If only I were. No, it�s a little more complicated than that. Let�s go upstairs, and I�ll explain.� Dan handed Ellie a coffee cup and sat down opposite her. �On Friday night, the Deputy Chief of Staff and the Deputy Communications Director were mugged outside a restaurant. Well, that�s the story the Press will be getting. In reality, Josh was beaten and Sam was�� Dan felt tears in her eyes. �Sam was sexually assaulted. He was badly hurt and he needs a nurse. I want that nurse to be you.� �Oh, poor boy. Is he here?� Dan nodded. �I�ll take you in. Follow me.� They both got up, and Dan turned at the sound of Leo and Bartlet coming up the stairs. �Hold on. Before you decide whether or not to help out, you should probably meet these two.� Bartlet smiled as he saw Dan. She walked across. �Mr President, this is Ellie Cunningham.� Bartlet shook Ellie�s hand. �You�re gonna be taking care of Sam?� Making an instant decision, Ellie said: �Yes, Sir. I am.� Leo smiled. �Leo McGarry.� Ellie looked from Dan to Leo. �You didn�t tell me how handsome he is.� Leo basked in the praise. Dan said sharply: �Oh, don�t encourage him. They�ll be arguing all evening now over who is the better looking. Remember, you two, keep the noise down. Sam�s only a couple of doors away. He doesn�t want to spend all night listening to you two arguing.� Chastened, Bartlet and Leo went quietly into the far corner of the room. Ellie�s jaw dropped. �He is the President, right? And he�s the Chief of Staff.� Dan nodded. �Yes, and don�t worry about telling them off if they disturb Sam.� Ellie looked stunned. �You�re not serious?� Dan frowned. �Ellie, you�re here to look after Sam. Not the noisy boys over there.� Ellie had had enough. Informality was okay. In its place. But that place wasn�t the White House. Well, not as far as she was concerned. �Perhaps I could meet Sam?� �Of course. Mr President, don�t get too involved. I�m going to dinner at the Embassy shortly. Leo, you said you�d drop me?� Leo nodded. �Okay, I�ll just put my chauffeurs� uniform on. Give me a minute.� Scowling, Dan shook her head and steered Ellie out of the room. As they walked out, Dan saw Ron Butterfield. �Hello Ron.� �Hi Dr J.� �Ron, this is Ellie Cunningham. She�s going to be taking care of Sam.� �Hi.� �And what do you do, young man?� �I�m the Head of the President�s Secret Service detail, ma�am.� Ellie smiled. �That�s nice.� Sam was half-awake, moving slowly in the bed. �Sam, this is Mrs Cunningham. She�s going to be looking after you until you�re feeling better.� Sam smiled weakly. �Hi.� �Hello Sam. Now, you get off to your dinner, Dr Jamieson, while Sam and I get to know each other.� �Right. If you need anything, there�s always someone outside the Residence door. They�ll get you whatever you need.� �I�m sure I won�t need anything. Now, off you go. Have a lovely time.� �Thank you. Oh, and if you see Abbey, just introduce yourself.� �Abbey?� �Abbey Bartlet. The First Lady.� Ellie smiled. �Yesterday I was pruning roses. Today I�m working in the White House.� Dan nodded. �A few weeks ago I was just an ER doctor. This morning I was in the Oval Office, shouting at the President and his Chief of Staff. Funny how things turn out, isn�t it?� She smiled, hugged Ellie then walked quickly to Leo�s office to pick up the dress Margaret had collected from the dry cleaners for her earlier. ************************* Closing the door, locking it, just in case, Dan then closed the blinds. Frowning at the time, she pulled off her jeans and t-shirt. She turned as the door opened. �Need a hand with the zip?� Dan smiled. �Leo, I thought I locked the door.� �You did. It�s my office. I have a key.� �Lock it again please. I don�t want anyone coming in.� Leo turned the key in the lock. �Okay.� After almost two months of waiting, part of Dan really wanted Leo. But following the revelation that Leo and the President�s relationship was a little more intimate than she had guessed, part of her didn�t want him anywhere near her unless they were both fully dressed. She knew she had only seconds to make a decision. Leo kissed her gently, forcing himself to wait, sensing something was wrong. �I love you.� That was enough. Dan reached up and pulled Leo�s jacket off his shoulders. �Just promise me you�ll think of Cindy Crawford while we�re together.� Leo stopped, suddenly confused. �Why the Hell would I think of another woman when I�m with you?� Dan didn�t want to spoil the mood, but her feelings were completely confused. �I just don�t want you thinking of another man.� Suddenly Leo understood. �Hey, it�s not like that.� Dan looked directly at Leo. Her voice had an edge Leo didn�t miss. �I don�t want to know.� Unsure what was happening, but wanting to find out, Leo kissed Dan again. �Okay.� Pushing her against the wall of his office, Leo began to undo his tie. Squirming out of his grip, Dan reached into her bag. Fishing out a small box, she pulled a condom out and handed it to Leo. His eyes widened. He was used to taking care of that kind of thing. His hand went to his shirt pocket. �I came prepared.� Dan smiled. �Boy scout?� Leo nodded. �Yeah.� Feeling the plastic wrap against her bare shoulders as Leo pushed her backwards, Dan cautioned: �Mind my dress, Leo.� �F___ the dress.� Dan�s eyes widened at Leo�s response. �You can do that later when I�m gone. Hurry up. I�ve got to leave soon.� Leo groaned at the bad joke. And the deadline. �Dan.� She took his tie from him and laid it on the chair at her side. �Yes?� �Shut up.� Dan didn�t make another intelligible sound until they were pulling their clothes back on. �Leo, can you help me with the zip please?� Leo grinned. �I knew I came in here for a reason.� �It would have been weird if you had come somewhere else.� Shocked at her coarse response, Leo said: �Be nice to me or I�ll tell your father what you just said.� Dan shook her head. �I win this one. Be nice to me or I�ll tell my father about you and the President.� Leo shrugged. �Yup. You win. You ready to go?� Dan contemplated the evening ahead. �I�d rather stay here.� �Yeah, me too. Tell him you�re not feeling well.� �Good idea, Leo. He�ll come rushing over to find out what�s wrong with me and find us going at it like rabbits in your office. That will make him like you even less than he does now.� �Is that possible?� �The rabbit thing or the liking thing?� Leo checked his car keys were in his pocket and unlocked the door. �Both.�
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