“So what are you going to do?” Toby asked, his fingers drumming on his knee.

Leo looked up from his reading and shrugged. “I promised Mal that I’d take a vacation. Then, who knows.”

“But you’re not retiring, right?” Toby pushed, wondering why he was even having this conversation.

“Toby, what’s with the sudden concern for my welfare?” Leo asked, skeptically.

The younger man avoided his gaze, instead focusing on the open doorway to the office. “What’s Margaret planning to do?” There he’d said it. After weeks of pestering from CJ, and Ginger for that matter, he had broached the subject.

“Okay. That’s it. What’s going on?” Leo exclaimed, removing his glasses and circling to the front of the desk.

So he really was oblivious, Toby concluded. Of course there was a lot of that going about. It had taken Donna five years to realize Sam had a crush on her. The letting down gently had been painful to watch and resulted in him leaving. Then there was the whole Josh/Donna thing. By the time Josh had realized Donna was crazy about him, she had moved on. Anyway he was getting distracted.

“Do you even know what she’s got planned?” Toby asked, finally looking at him.

“I’ve written her a reference, sent her resume to a few people,” Leo admitted weakly. “I guess she’ll get a job in D.C.”

“But you haven’t asked?”

“In case you haven’t noticed we still have a country to run.”

“In two weeks it’ll all be over,” Toby muttered, rising to his feet and gathering his belongings. “Then it’ll be too late.”

“Too late for what?” Leo pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched the Communications Director leave without a backward glance.

“That’s the first sign of madness,“ Margaret announced, making her presence felt.

“What?”

She shook her head and dropped a stack of messages on his desk before picking up a pile of signed letters. “Mallory called. She’d like to meet you for lunch tomorrow. I said one o’clock would be fine.”

“Yeah,” he grumbled, distracted.

Margaret bobbed her head and took a step towards the door.

“Margaret?”

She spun around and stared at him.

Leo debated asking her about her plans, then thought better of it. She’d only think he was prying into her business or being over protective again. “Doesn’t matter.”

She left in a flutter of red hair and red silk leaving him to stare after her.

******

Leo walked into the restaurant and glanced around the room. He spotted her first and crossed to her. “Hey Baby,” he greeted, pulling his daughter into a hug.

“Hey Dad.”

“How’s your Mom?”

Mallory groaned. The conversation was getting stale after all these years. “She’s fine. When are you moving out of the hotel?”

It was his turn to show his displeasure.

“Dad, it’s been seven years, don’t you think it’s time to find an apartment?” Mallory pressed. “You are staying in D.C?”

“What is it with the concern about my plans?” Leo growled, scanning the menu.

“People care.”

“Have you spoken to Margaret?” he asked, deciding on a light salad.

Mallory allowed herself the luxury of a small smile. “Have you?”

He made a strange noise in the back of his throat.

Her father was an idiot, Mallory decided. Well she knew that from the mess he made of his marriage to her mother, but this time he was surpassing himself.

“So, you ready to order?” Leo asked after a few minutes.

She nodded and the waiter appeared to take their order.

Conversation over lunch turned to school and Mallory’s four year old daughter, the apple of her grandfather’s eye. As the coffee arrived Mallory got back to why she was there.

“Dad?” she started hesitantly, knowing he wasn’t going to react well.

“What’s the matter, baby?”

She smiled and reached for his hand. “I don’t think you should vacation alone.”

Leo stared at her blankly. “I’m not so old that I need a nurse.”

Mallory shook her head and stirred the black coffee. “I mean maybe you could take a friend. Some company.”

“I’m not even sure where I’m going.” If I’m going, he wanted to add but thought better of it.

“When you decide. . . Actually I’ll drop by the travel agents’ and grab some brochures.”

So, she wasn’t going to let up.

“When you decide,” she started again, “You should take someone along. If only to have someone to eat with.”

He nodded, understanding now where this was going.

Mallory picked at the mint wrapping and stared at him innocently. “So, have you bought Margaret a gift yet?”

“Okay, how did we get from vacation to gifts so quickly? And why am I buying Margaret a gift?” He knew he would, Mallory had that particular look in her eyes.

“Duh. To say thank you for putting up with the most difficult, grumpy curmudgeon on earth,” Mallory grinned. “Josh has already bought Donna’s.”

“Yeah, a week in Hawaii.”

“Great idea,” Mallory exclaimed as if the whole thing was her father’s idea and had never occurred to her. “You could take Margaret on vacation.”

Leo groaned. He had walked into that one, with both eyes open in fact.

“Just think. She’d pack for you, keep you out of the sun, you’d never have to read a guide book and if you’re real lucky she’ll spend the whole trip in a string bikini.”

Leo dropped his eyes to his cup. That was an image he didn’t need. The idea of Margaret in skimpy underwear was enough to send blood flowing to areas, well areas he’d rather not flood while Mallory was in the room.

“Baby!”

She threw her hands up in the air. “Okay, but just consider this. She might decide to go home. Boston wasn’t it? Then where will that leave you?”

“In D.C.?”

Mallory growled and picked up her purse. “Thanks for dinner, jackass.”

He watched her go and rubbed his temples. What was it with everyone and Margaret? It wasn’t as if she owed him anything. Hell, she was probably looking forward to seeing the back of him. Besides he’d done a pretty good job of concealing his feelings for her, hadn’t he?

*******

Josh was waiting in Leo’s office when he returned from lunch the following day, lounging across his couch, reading.

“Don’t you have an office of your own?” Leo grumbled, throwing his coat over the chair.

“Yours is nicer.”

“And unless I’m mistaken, still mine for a while longer.”

Josh grinned and ran a hand through his unruly mop, now tinged with grey. “Yeah. So anyway. . ., how was lunch?”

“What do you want?” Leo asked in a tone that defied Josh to waste his time.

“Is Margaret okay?” Josh asked quietly, his eyes darting to the door and back to Leo.

Leo followed his gaze. “She was alright when I left. What did you do?”

“Hey, you’re the one who books appointments without telling her and stays behind on trips,” Josh yelled, his voice becoming increasingly squeaky. “And still don’t ask her out after fifteen years,” he didn’t add.

“If you don’t have anything to do, I’m sure I can find you something,” Leo offered, gesturing to his cluttered desk.

“Donna’s looking for you,” Margaret grinned, breezing through the door and dropping another pile of folders in front of Leo.

Leo raised an eyebrow.

“You need to decide what to shred, what to file and what to send to Toby to lose,” Margaret said, still grinning.

Josh leaned back further in the couch, watching the two of them. He smirked as he asked, “So, have you found a job yet, Margaret?”

Margaret glared at him. “Which part of Donna’s looking for you, do you not understand?”

Josh’s smirk faded. Donna was right, Margaret hadn’t been job hunting, she was holding out for Leo to make a decision. Which meant she was probably going to be deeply disappointed if Leo’s record was anything to go by, and Josh couldn‘t let that happen.

“I’m going.”

“Thank God for that,” Leo muttered as Josh disappeared. He looked up to find Margaret still hovering. “What?”

Margaret nibbled on her bottom lip. “You have a dinner engagement for Saturday night. White tie.”

“I thought I’d finally finished with those. . .,” he paused. “The First Lady?”

Margaret bobbed her head and gave him a weak smile. “Should I get your dinner jacket cleaned?”

Leo groaned. Abbey was up to something and in his experience it wasn’t going to be good for him.

*******

“Hey kiddo.”

CJ looked up from her desk and removed her glasses. “Leopold?”

“I really wish you wouldn’t call me that,” he grumbled, dropping unceremoniously onto her couch.

“Ten more days and you won’t have to hear it again for months,” CJ grinned, getting out of her chair and circling the desk. “So, is this a social visit?”

“No.”

“Damn, I was hoping you were here for dating advice.”

“CJ!”

She shrugged and perched on the desk. “What then?”

“Human Resources has been in touch,” he said, waving a sheet of paper.

“And?”

“It seems we’ve been underpaying you,” he grinned, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “By eight thousand dollars.”

Her jaw dropped and she stared at him. “You’re kidding me?”

His grin widened as he shook his head. “They’ll wire it to your account on the last of the month.”

She crossed the room and kissed him.

“Wow, not exactly the response I was expecting,” he admitted, glancing out the door.

“Not the person you wanted either, eh?” CJ said softly.

“I’m going now.”

“You know, Leo? If I was you, what am I saying, I was you for eight years, I’d tell her how I feel.”

“Who?” he asked with a blank expression.

“Better still drag her in the broom closet and show her,” CJ said, moving back behind her desk, contemplating the shopping extravaganza she was going to have.

“You’ve lost me,” he muttered weakly.

CJ glanced back over her shoulder and fixed him in her sights. “And if you’re not careful, you’ll lose her. She’s waited this long, doesn’t mean she’ll wait forever.”

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll watch out for the ‘Dear Claudia’ column,” he groaned.

“I would, in fact, be very good at that,” she called after him, smiling.

Leo arrived early. The whole place seemed to be in holiday mood. That was, when it wasn’t in manic depression mood. No one seemed really sure whether they wanted to celebrate eight great years or commiserate that they were leaving. Josh and Toby were worse than the girls.

He entered his office and hung his coat on the stand.

“Good Morning,” a familiar voice greeted him.

He turned around to find Margaret standing in the doorway. His eyes drifted from her red hair swept into a chignon, to the cream blouse and down to her knees. He checked himself quickly. “Margaret?”

“I’ll pick the dry cleaning up in my lunch break. You need to go over the files on the coffee table and decide what you need to keep. Messages are on your desk and you have a last minute appointment,” she listed.

“Who?”

Margaret nibbled on her bottom lip. “The British Ambassador.”

“No,” he groaned.

She bobbed her head, and turned to leave. “And I’d like a few minutes when you can spare them.”

Leo didn’t like the sound of her parting words. They reminded him of “We need to talk.” He dropped into his chair and scanned the seemingly endless papers on his desk.

Ten minutes later there was a knock at the door followed by, “GERALD!”

Leo groaned and rose to his feet. “Your Lordship.”

“Good to see you. How have you been?” Marbury babbled. “You look well. And Margaret looks wonderful, such wonderfully pert breasts.”

“Glad you could spare the time.”

“Nonsense. I’m off to England next week, wanted to say goodbye before you leave. Won’t be the same without you.”

Leo fixed a smile on his face and nodded.

“So how are you going to be spending your retirement?” Marbury continued. “A beach somewhere, surrounded by girls in bikinis? Or are you a gardening man? I really can’t see you doing nothing?”

For an inexplicable minute Leo’s thoughts turned to Ainsley. It would be a match made in heaven he decided, the eccentric English Lord and the nervous Republican.

“Gerald?”

Leo shook himself out of his thoughts. “I really don’t like to think of it as retirement.”

The sound of scoffing filtered through the open doorway.

“Margaret,” Leo bellowed and her head appeared in the doorway. “See if the President’s free to see his Lordship.”

“How long are your legs exactly?” Marbury asked, tilting his head to stare at Margaret’s nylon covered legs.

Margaret blushed. “I’ve never really measured, your Lordship.”

“See Gerald, that’s how you should be spending your retirement. Curled up with 40 inches of leg wrapped around you.”

Margaret’s face turned even redder if possible and she babbled, “I’ll speak to Charlie now.”

Leo covered his face with his hands and willed his body to stop reacting to the images filling his mind.

“Lovely girl, your assistant. She’ll make someone a good wife.”

“Yes,” Leo cleared his throat. “So you’re returning to England?”

“Yes, indeed. Her royal Majesty has invited me to the state dinner and I need to meet with the PM.” He gestured wildly. “There are so many things I miss.”

“Oh?”

“Fine 12 year single malts for one.”

The connecting door opened and Leo scrambled to his feet. “Mr. President?”

“Charlie told me John was here,” Jed boomed, gripping his Lordships hands. “Come through to my office.”

Leo let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, goodbye Gerald and God Speed in whatever you decide.”

For a brief moment Leo thought he was going to kiss him but just as quickly he was gone. He sank back into his chair and waited for his next appointment.

“Have you seen Josh?“

Leo filled his coffee mug and turned around. “Hey Donna.”

“I’m looking for Josh,” she said, in a tone that told him that his Deputy was in trouble.

“He left, didn’t he?” Leo was sure that Josh had taken Amy to dinner. The moment that he’d gone into details had been the point where Leo switched off.

“Damn.”

“Donna?”

“He promised me, faithfully, that he would leave my reference on my desk before I left. Jackass. I have a job interview tomorrow.”

“Have you tried calling him on his cell?” Leo suggested, slipping back into his seat and returning his attention to the briefing books spread out over the Mess table.

“Idiot has it switched off.”

Leo sighed, removing his glasses and pushing his papers away. “Okay, what has he really done?”

Donna dropped into the nearest chair. “He’s being a jerk.”

Leo raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t exactly news.

“There’s this job that I would be good at but Josh laughed. He said it needed someone with greater self-appreciation,” Donna snapped. “In fact he suggested Margaret should apply.”

His interest piqued. “What’s the job?”

“Personal Assistant to Chairman of the Senate Defense Committee.”

“Sounds like something you would be very good at,” Leo commented, hoping that Josh had kept his suggestion to himself. The last thing he wanted was Margaret off visiting war zones. Donna on the other hand had been dealing with Josh’s war torn love life for years.

“Which was my point exactly. So now he’s stalling on the reference,” she groaned. “God, I hate him.”

“Maybe he’s going to miss you.”

“Huh. Since when did any of you notice what your assistants were doing.” She stopped suddenly and bit her tongue. “I’m sorry, Leo. Josh has been a major pain today.”

“And like that’s new?” he grinned.

“Well, no.”

“Go type up what you want the reference to say and I’ll sign it.”

“Really?” she asked eagerly.

He nodded and repositioned his glasses.

“No wonder Margaret loves working for you,” Donna smiled as she bobbed off to write a glowing report.

Leo closed his eyes. The words love and Margaret had a habit of sending his brain into overdrive. If only Margaret loved him, and not just working for him, things would be so much easier, he concluded.

The dinner was already in full swing when Leo finally dragged himself away from his office. The week hadn’t gotten any better. The senior staff still wanted to know what his plans were. The assistants fell silent every time he walked by which was enough to create mild paranoia in him.

Abbey spotted him across the room and grabbed his arm. “Well, don’t you look handsome.”

“You look lovely,” he commented, giving her a perfunctory kiss on the cheek.

“Glad you could come.”

“Did I have any choice?” he grumbled, glancing around the room and realizing that everyone else seemed to be in couples.

Abbey grinned and started to drag him across the room. “I spoke to Mallory yesterday. She said you still were undecided about what to do next.”

Warning bells flashed in Leo’s head. He stole another glance around the room and spotted her, the petite redhead in the corner, nervously swilling her glass.

“Abbey!”

“You like red heads, don’t you?” she smirked, leaning in. “Her name’s Hattie. She’s a teacher. Be nice.”

“You really think I can’t find myself a woman?”

“Fifteen years, Leo. She’s been right in front of you for fifteen years, and you’ve done zip.”

Even as the words left his mouth, he knew he’d made a mistake. “I was married for seven of those and she’s my assistant.”

“Not for much longer,” Abbey hissed, grinning. “Then she’ll be gone and what are you gonna do then?”

It was a conspiracy he decided as Hattie dropped her drink and shrieked.

Leo rolled his eyes at Abbey and moved across to Hattie’s side. Handing over his crispy white handkerchief, he waited while she cleaned up.

Abbey winked at Hattie and wandered off to mingle. She knew that Leo would be the perfect gentleman, she also knew that Hattie was the complete opposite of Margaret and therefore she hoped he would come to his senses.

Sometimes, he just needed the right push.

*******

Margaret knocked on the door and stepped timidly into the room.

Leo glanced up briefly and returned to his papers. “You didn’t need to come in today.”

She hovered in front of his desk. “We never did get to have that chat.”

The foreboding sent his stomach into knots. He continued to stare at the papers as he collected himself. “Okay, take a seat.” He motioned to the couch and she slid into it.

Leo settled himself beside her and folded his hands in his lap. When they were still sat in silence five minutes later he cleared his throat. “What did you want to discuss?”

Margaret’s hands fidgeted in her lap as she tried to remember the speech she’d had planned for days. “I, um, well.”

“I don’t bite,” he grinned, trying to get her to look at him.

“But you bark a lot,” she muttered then bit her lip. “Sorry.”

He waved her off. “I’ve heard worse. Has something happened? Has someone upset you?” He was going to kill them, he decided, wondering where the hell that came from.

“No.” Her eyes shot up and locked with his. “Leo.”

He waited patiently.

“I’m leaving on Friday.” She swallowed hard. “There’s a flight Friday afternoon and I’d like to be on it. There’s nothing but the party that night and. . .,” she trailed off as he stared back at her.

“You want to leave early?” His Margaret, his “I go when you go” assistant was deserting him.

“Yes,” she croaked.

“I see.” The hell he did.

“I thought I should check with you first. The filing cabinets are finished. I dropped the rest of your dry cleaning off, and I’ve prepared the letters of recommendation for everyone. Anything minor Donna can handle.”

“You don’t want to attend the party?”

“I’ll see everyone at the weddings, christenings, whatever.” She concentrated on the carpet less she should start to cry. “So?”

“I think you should stay until Saturday,” he managed to mutter.

“Why? I mean, if there’s work to be done, I can fly later,” she stumbled. All she wanted was for him to let her go easily. She wasn’t going to hang around for the goodbyes.

“No, you’re right,” he said, standing and walking to the window. Gazing at the lawn he contemplated how many days, hours he had to adjust. “You’re owed leave time and if you have plans.”

“Thank you.” She rose quietly and left.

Margaret appeared in the doorframe and cleared her throat, “Leo? Are you busy?”

Leo continued to type at his keyboard. “What is it?”

“I have Sam on line two,” she said softly. “He asked if he could have a word.”

“Sam?” Leo asked, turning around and reaching for the phone. “As in our Sam?”

Margaret bobbed her head and smiled, “See I told you he’d keep in touch. Children just need to go out on their own sometimes.”

Leo raised an eyebrow and she left.

Picking up the phone, he waited a second before pressing the flashing red light. “Hey, Sam.”

“Leo,” Sam responded, the sound of traffic filtering through the background. “How are you?”

“Fine. And you?”

“Good. Busy.” Sam turned away from the road. “I’m between appointments so I thought I’d call.”

“So, you’re still living it up in L.A.?” Leo grinned. The last thing he knew Sam would be doing was living it up. “How’s your Mom?”

“Dating,” Sam grumbled. “My case goes to trial next week, otherwise I’d come up for the party.”

“Yeah.” There wasn’t a lot else to say. Sam had left to take care of his mother and work as a public defender. Which, Leo had to admit was typically Sam.

“Margaret sounds good.”

Leo groaned, “Did you call for a reason or just to bug me about my assistant?”

“Can’t I do both?” Sam teased, pressing the phone to his ear as the traffic noises increased. “I wanted to wish you luck on your retirement and to make sure you include me on the guest list for the wedding.”

“Funny boy.”

“So I’ve been told. Look, Leo, you may think you’re protecting her, by not telling her, but you’re really not. With Donna, I guess I always knew she was in love with someone else. Margaret, on the other hand, you may be pleasantly surprised.”

“You’re breaking up,” Leo grumbled.

“Yeah, okay, ignore my good advice, look how that turned out with your bleeding gums,” Sam smiled. “Anyway, take care. Love to Mal.”

“Bye, Sam.” Leo dropped the phone into its cradle and shook his head. He ready had thought he was hiding his feelings well. Obviously he wasn’t if all the kids knew.

Jed sat in his study, reading and drinking a banana milkshake. Abbey was occupied going over the list of things to ship to Manchester and he certainly didn’t want to get dragged into that job.

A knock at the door broke into his moment of peace.

“Yeah.”

“It’s Leo, Sir,” came a familiar gravely voice.

“Come in, then,” Jed grumbled, placing his book on the side.

Leo entered, closing the door behind him and hovering behind the visitor’s chair. “Good evening, Mr. President.”

“You realize in four days, we’ll be out of here. You gonna call me Jed again?”

“Until then you are still the President,” Leo stated, taking the chair, Jed indicated.

“Semantics.” Taking a sip of milkshake, he leaned forward in his chair. “Did you appreciate Abigail’s little matchmaking effort?”

Leo groaned and shook his head.

“Well maybe if you gotten your head out of your ass, she wouldn’t need to,” Jed snapped.

“Sir?”

“Margaret is attractive, funny and probably the only person who would be willing to put up with you, and what do you do? Nothing.”

“She’s my assistant,” Leo protested.

“But you do like her, right? I mean, we’re not all imagining it,” Jed grinned.

Leo lowered his head into his hands and mumbled, “Conspiracy.”

Jed leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. “Of course, I could just make an executive order. You are going to tell her of your own volition before she leaves?”

“I’m going home,” Leo grumbled. “I came to say goodnight.”

“Maybe Abbey ‘should’ find a nice girl for you.”

Leo rose to his feet and headed for the door. “With all due respect, Sir - Butt out.”

Leo walked the corridors of the OEOB, looking for the Deputy White House Counsel. He had already tried the Mess, thinking that was the most logical place to find her, but she’d already headed back to her office.

Her office door was open and she was singing as she tossed files into a cardboard box.

“Well, this is an improvement on the Steam Trunk Distribution Venue,“ he teased, watching her hips gyrate.

“Mr. McGarry!” she squeaked, jumping in the air. “I’m sorry, Leo. I did not hear you enter.“

“Stealth mode.”

Ainsley settled herself on the edge of her desk and stared back at him. “This is a nice surprise. What can I do for you?”

He ducked his head as he handed over a folder. “I thought you might need a reference and some contacts.”

“You didn’t need to do this. It is, by me, very much appreciated, but you should not have, in your position, taken the time,” she explained in her southern drawl.

“I thought you might need some help, being a turncoat and all,” Leo offered gently.

“Thank you for taking the trouble. I understand, from Margaret, who you do not tell often enough that she is a very good assistant, and nice person, that you have been very kind to everyone.”

Leo readjusted the sentence in his head before grinning. “Glad to hear Margaret has been singing my praises.”

Ainsley reached out a hand to squeeze his arm. “She is very fond of you. I must, before we all leave, thank her for everything, she has done for me.”

“Make it quick then. She’s leaving Friday morning,” Leo grumbled, still not sure why she needed to leave so quickly.

“Margaret is missing the party, which I understand from Donna, is going to be glorious fun?” Ainsley asked, her voice rising on the last word.

“Yeah.” He glanced around at the boxes and smiled. “So how was it then? Working in The White House? This White House, at that.”

Her smile lit up her face. “It was, for me, the most fantastic experience of my life, and one, which should the opportunity arise, I would like to repeat. For me, the experience of working in this White House with such patriotic people, is an honor and a privilege. Not that other occupants of the White House in the past have not been patriotic, per se, but since I have not had first-hand experience on which to base an opinion, I can not make a valid comparison.“

"So, that's a yes?"

“May I say something, and please do not take offence, I mean you no disrespect?”

“Yeah.”

“Why have you not stopped Margaret leaving? I would think, from experience, that you would want to hang on to the one thing that has enriched your life. If we were to take a look, I mean examine the relationships around here, we would see that good relationships are hard to find. Would it not be better to hang on to the good ones?” She took a breath. “Once one finds that special person, should one not hold on to them?”

Leo covered his eyes with his hand and groaned. “So everyone keeps telling me.”

“Then maybe, with respect, you should listen to them, and not, as you have for so many years, only dish out advice, as good as that advice is,” Ainsley babbled, searching in her drawer and pulling out a muffin.

“If only it was that easy.”

“Leo,” she said softly, causing his head to shoot up. “Margaret is that special person, is she not? In which case, and from experience, you should keep it simple. Tell her why she shouldn’t leave.”

“You’re a good girl, you know that?” he whispered, kissing her cheek and sending her into palpitations.

“But still bad enough for a dog to break its lease,” she grinned, dusting off the lint-covered muffin.

Leo shook his head after giving her a backward glance and headed back to his office to plan how he was going to stop Margaret from running away.

Leo wandered around the book store, scanning the shelves for something appropriate. He had already picked up a book on frugal accounting only to discard it. He’d come to the conclusion that Margaret would only copy, what she considered, appropriate pages and send them to him, with notations. Now he was browsing the travel section. He wanted a book for Margaret, something that she would appreciate. Josh had bought Donna a book on skiing one Christmas and she had launched herself at him.

He crouched down and scanned the bottom shelf. Finally he saw it and his whole plan fell into place.

At the counter he pulled out his credit card and paid.

******

“I’m back,” he called out as he entered his office and slipped the book into his briefcase.

“About time,” came a grumpy reply.

“Okay, what happened? What did he do?”

Margaret stared at him over her notepad. “Josh did morning TV slots.”

“Where is he now?” Leo snapped, his hand on the phone.

“Aren’t you even going to ask what he said?” she asked quietly.

“No. The better question is who did he piss off this time?”

“It wasn’t so much that he pissed anyone off,” Margaret started. “More that he left Donna in tears.”

Leo circled the desk. “He went on National Television and caused Donna to cry?“

Margaret bobbed her head, her eyes widening.

“Where the hell is he?” Leo barked.

“Leo, the phones haven’t stopped ringing all morning.”

He stopped abruptly and turned to face her. “Margaret, what exactly did Josh do?”

“He asked Donna to marry him,” Margaret whispered, wistfully. “The anchor asked him what memory would stay with him. He said waking up in the hospital and seeing Donna. He said it was then he realized he wanted her to be in his life forever.” She teared up. “Then he went on about wasting precious time and making mistakes. Then he proposed.”

Leo closed his eyes and rubbed his face. “It was NBC wasn’t it?”

“CNN,” she mumbled.

“Did Donna’s fiance see it?” Leo asked, wondering where he would find Josh.

She shrugged and backed towards her office. “Don’t be too hard on him, Leo.”

Leo let out the breath he was holding and glanced across at her. “He couldn’t wait two days?”

“He loves her, Leo. What’s so wrong in telling her?” Margaret snapped, turning and stalking out of the room.

He watched her go. For a brief second he wished he had Josh’s courage or stupidity or what the hell he had. Anything to be able to go out there and tell her how he felt.

Leo stalked down the corridor towards Josh’s bullpen, ignoring the stacks of boxes that seemed to have multiplied over night. He glanced around the room and caught sight of Donna, swiping her eyes and trying to box up files.

“How are you doing?”

Donna looked up and fresh tears pricked in her eyes. “He can be so incredibly Josh, then so sweet.”

“Did he come back yet?”

She shook her head, “I don’t know what to do now. I love Mike but. . .”

“Maybe you should go see Margaret or CJ,” Leo suggested, not really sure if wanted to offer relationship guidance under the circumstances.

“Leo? The man I’ve half been in love with for nine years asked me to marry him. He said all these really sweet things, things that I never expected Josh to say.” Tears streamed down her face and Leo dug in his pocket for a clean handkerchief.

“I’m not very good at this,” Leo muttered, pulling her into an embrace. “My record on relationships isn’t that great.” He patted her back awkwardly. “I think you need to ask yourself whether Josh is the one, if he is then I think you have your answer. The right person doesn‘t come along twice.”

He felt her nod against his shoulder before she stepped back.

“Thank you, Leo.”

“It helped?”

“Yeah. I need to find Josh.”

Leo let out a sigh of relief as she grabbed her coat and headed towards the lobby. One problem solved, now all he had to do was solve his own.

Leo walked through the deserted corridors, pausing to steal silent glances into each room. He could still remember the President’s entrance into the Mural room after the bicycle accident, and the party in the Roosevelt room after they won the second term. It seemed impossible that this was their last day, their final chance to make a difference, not that he expected there to be too much work going on.

Entering his office, he was too preoccupied with shedding his overcoat to realize he wasn’t alone.

“Good morning, Leo,” she said cheerfully, watching him.

“Margaret, jeez, you scared the hell outta me,” he complained.

“I see you are in a good mood,” she retorted, balancing an armful of files and messages. “You’re really going to miss this place, aren’t you?”

The wistful tone in her voice didn’t go unnoticed by Leo as he shuffled over to his desk. “Yeah.” He took a deep breath and concentrated on the papers on his desk. “I tried to catch you last night, but you’d already left.”

Margaret placed the papers on the edge of the desk and nodded. “The girls took me out for drinks and I had to pack.”

Leo’s eyes fluttered shut as he tried to form a coherent sentence. “Did you have a good time?”

She bobbed her head. “So, you wanted something?”

It was now or never, he decided, before the usual suspects trailed into his office. “I, um, I have a gift for you,” he muttered, his cheeks tinged with red.

“Really?”

“Actually, three.” he glanced up and grinned at the look of surprise on her face. “And no, Mallory didn’t buy them.”

She laughed and he had the sudden urge to kiss her. Opening his briefcase he pulled the selection of packages from inside, placing them on the desk. “Why don’t we sit down?”

“Okay.”

Margaret settled herself on the couch as Leo slid in beside her.

“This one first,” he encouraged, a school boy grin tugging at his mouth.

Her fingers pulled at the paper, to reveal a small box. As she popped the lid of the box she shook her head. “A bell? You bought me a bell?”

So I know where you are, he thought. “Right. This is the second.” Leo extracted the book from the carrier bag and placed it on her lap.

Margaret stared at the cover, her face revealing the memories of missed trips and opportunities. Slowly she lifted the cover and caught sight of his neat scrawl.

“I know it isn’t much, but words didn’t seem enough to thank you,” he offered hesitantly, watching her face for signs of anything she might be feeling.

“Thank you, Leo.” Her eyes remained focused on the words and she had to bite her lip to stop from crying.

He fingered the envelope in the knowledge of the matching one in his case. “And this is the final one.” His fingers brushed hers as he pushed it into her hands. They locked eyes briefly then the moment was gone.

Margaret tore it open and gasped when she read her name on the airline ticket and saw the destination. “Leo, I can’t.”

“You can. You deserve it,” he smiled weakly. “If you need to change the departure airport I’ll pay the difference. You missed out on too many trips because of me.” His breath caught in his throat as she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and lightly kissing his cheek.

“Thank you, Leo.”

His hands tightened on her back as he savored having her in his arms for the first and probably the last time. “Please stay for the party,” he whispered against her hair.

Margaret swallowed and pulled back, smoothing her skirt as she did so. “Why?”

“Why? Because tonight is for everyone who made this administration such a success and you’re part of that,” he said, mentally kicking himself at his inability to say the real reason.

“Yeah, of course,” she replied, defeated. “I wish I could, but I have plans.”

He nodded dejectedly, standing abruptly and moving to his desk. Absently he picked up a yellow post it and stared at the words. “The President wants everyone in the lobby at ten. You‘ll be there for that?”

“Yes.” Gathering her gifts, Margaret gave him one more look before leaving the office. “Thank you, Leo.”

Leo sunk into his chair and tossed the note onto the desk. He had blown it, despite everyone’s good advice, he had left it too late. She was leaving and he still couldn’t say what he felt.

******

Josh knocked on the door and bounced in the door frame. “Leo?”

Leo glanced up from his final security briefing folder and scratched his forehead. “Yeah.”

“Margaret asked me to come get you for the meeting,” Josh said, moving into the room. “She and Donna are talking trips.”

“Are you going with her?”

“Yup. I booked my plane ticket this morning. She’s agreed to give it a go.” His smile said it all. “Are you going with Margaret?”

“Josh,” Leo warned, rising to his feet and circling the desk.

A grin was his response. “You bought two tickets, right? You just haven’t got the courage to ask her.”

“JOSH!”

“Sometimes you just have to take a risk. The two of you have been trying to say goodbye for weeks and you still haven’t managed it. She can’t walk away either.”

“She’s leaving at noon, Josh. That tells me, she can,” Leo corrected, leading them through the corridors.

Josh grinned and nudged his arm. “Nah, she’s just fed up of waiting for you to make a move.”

Leo gave his a skeptical look but his feet stopped moving abruptly. “You really think she’d be interested?” he asked, a note of disbelief in his voice.

“Now’s a good a time as any to find out.” Josh pushed open the doors to the lobby and stepped through. The room was already filling up and he scanned the walls for Donna. Spotting her, he bounded over.

Leo looked for Margaret but couldn’t see her. His heart skipped a beat at the thought she might have already left. After all, she no longer owed him anything. Frowning he headed to the back wall and positioned himself to wait for the President.

CJ and Toby were in a corner. Toby leaning against a wall and CJ to his right, their hands entwined. Josh and Donna were practically making out on the other side of the room. The rest of the assistants were chatting in the middle. As the President entered, Leo still hadn’t found Margaret.

Then he heard it.

The tiny ringing of a bell, approaching quickly.

Leo grinned, then hid it quickly, before he turned around. “Margaret,” he hissed, raising an eyebrow.

“So much for stealth mode,” she grinned, moving to his right and focusing on the President as he began his speech.

His eyes drifted to the various couples around the room and back to his friend. He could feel Margaret beside him, her hand lightly brushing his arm and her perfume drowning his senses. For the first time in his life, he knew Josh was right, now was the time to find out.

Leaning in, he whispered, “Come with me.”

Margaret’s eyes widened, “Leo? What’s wrong? The President.”

“I’ll get you a transcript later, please.” he waited for her to move but she stared back at him, arms folded. Sighing, he turned to face her completely.

“Please don’t leave this afternoon.”

“Leo, we’ve been through this,” Margaret whispered, fearful of the looks they were getting.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he said firmly. “Ever.”

Her hands fell to her sides, “Why?”

Jed stopped speaking mid sentence and smiled.

Leo rubbed his temples absentmindedly, “Because . . .”

“Because?”

“Damn it, Margaret. I’m not good at this. I even bought two tickets to L.A. and. . .,” he trailed off, suddenly aware that the room was silent. His eyes scanned the room nervously before returning to look at her.

“And?”

“Apparently I’m as transparent as glass,” Leo groaned.

Margaret smiled over his shoulder at Donna, and reached for his hand. “Not to me, so you’re going to have to spell it out. Want to go somewhere private?”

Somewhere across the room, someone groaned.

Leo shook his head, “They’ll only want the details later.” He grinned and squeezed her hand. “I have . . . I’d like us. . .”

“Yes,” she whispered softly.

“Yes?” he coughed, finding himself drowning in her eyes.

“Come to California with me,” she whispered. “If you’re trying to say what I think you’re trying to say.”

“And that is?”

“I love you, Leo.”

“Nah, that wasn’t what I was trying to say,” he grinned as she inched her nose closer. “I love you.”

His lips brushed hers before he pulled away and gazed into her eyes, asking for permission to do it again.

Margaret bobbed her head and leaned into the kiss, ignoring the cheers and applause around them.

The End

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