*~*~*~*

The wedding had gone without a hitch. Toby and Margaret had taken their vows in the grounds of the hotel with fifty of their closest friends in attendance. Margaret had looked every inch the beautiful bride in a full length ivory gown, her red hair piled up on top of her head with a diamante tiara, and carrying a trailing bouquet of summer flowers.

After the ceremony, the guests had moved inside for the four course wedding breakfast. The cake cut and emotional speeches over, the guests mingled in the ballroom while they waited for the evening’s entertainment to start. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, not least the bride and groom.

Leo leaned back against the pillar and scanned the room. He’d spent most of the day, either on the phone with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, or trapped in a corner with the President. His date had long since given up on getting his attention and gone in search of someone to talk to.

His eyes fell on the groom, propping up the bar with a glass of whiskey and water in one hand while his other hand drummed lethargically on the bar top. Toby, he knew, hated having nothing to do with his hands, but Margaret had made him give up cigars the second she found out she was pregnant. Not willing to suffer her wrath, Toby had willing complied. He waved his glass at Leo and returned his attention to his eldest sister.

Leo’s eyes continued to search the room for his date. He finally caught sight of her, sitting at the top table, chatting animatedly with Margaret. She looked stunning, even if he had been a little preoccupied to notice earlier. Her dark hair hung in curls framing her face and brushing her bare shoulders. The simple red sundress, she’d bought especially for the occasion, molded to her body, making her look slender and tanned. Leo made a note to correct his earlier omission and tell her later how beautiful she was.

Carol giggled as her hands moved rapidly through the air, empathizing her point. Margaret leaned in conspiratorially to Carol and they both laughed, heads thrown back as they fought to remain in their seats.

Leo smiled at the scene and shook his head. It was all Margaret’s fault that he’d ended up dating CJ’s assistant in the first place, and to top it all, now she seemed intent on making them the next ones up the aisle.

*~*~*~*

The election was still five weeks away and the campaign didn’t seem to be getting any easier, or maybe it was just that Bruno was getting more demanding. Worse still, Margaret was already taking time off.

Leo lowered the receiver to it’s cradle and glanced at the clock. It was almost seven and Margaret had already gone home. Not that she had been much use to him all day, with the frequent trips to the bathroom and her unsettled stomach. He still wasn’t sure if he would ever forgive Toby for getting his assistant pregnant in the middle of the campaign.

Stretching, he rose from his seat and wandered out to her outer office. The revised campaign schedule sat on her desk, the yellow post it note screaming it‘s urgency. Leo picked it up and began his search of the West Wing. Bruno was demanding copies to be sent to him immediately along with a donors pack and expenses file. Leo, in his ignorance of Margaret’s system, didn‘t have a clue how to go about it.

The Communications Bullpen was empty, Ginger and Bonnie taking a well earned early night. His quest took him past Donna’s desk, her computer on but her person nowhere to be seen. He was on the verge of giving up when he spotted a familiar mane of dark hair pass by CJ’s window.

“Carol.”

She turned around and smiled, “Hey, Leo.”

He took in the jacket and her packed bag and hesitated, “You’re on your way home.”

“What do you need?” She removed her jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. “The file.” Carol motioned with her hand for him to pass it over.

“You probably have plans.”

“Nope, unless you class a hot bath and Ben and Jerry’s, plans.”

“Who are Ben and Jerry?” he asked seriously, pinching the bridge of his nose in consternation.

Carol stifled a giggle, “Ice cream, Leo. Raspberry ripple whirl.”

“Oh.”

“So, the campaign schedule?” She dropped into her chair and powered up her laptop.

Leo leaned over her shoulder and rested his palm on the desk, oblivious to the effect his proximity was having on the young woman. “Bruno wants copies to the campaign team. And he wants a donor pack and expense forms.”

“I’ll email the expense forms and schedule but the donor’s packs will have to be couriered. Who do I invoice, the campaign team?” Carol took a deep breath and became slightly heady at the scent of his cologne.

“Yeah, can I leave that with you?”

Carol nodded and was already putting the disk in her hard drive as he walked away. She refused to watch him go, her cheeks flushing at the images racing through her mind. Carol brushed them away, instead concentrating on the task at hand.

It was ten o’clock when there was a light tap on Leo’s door and Carol’s head appeared in the frame.

“You still here?” he asked, returning his attention to the briefing book before him.

“I came to return the file. I emailed Bruno and sent copies to Doug and Connie. The courier should be with him before lunch tomorrow. Was there anything else?” She hoped she sounded professional because he made her feel anything but.

“No.”

“Night then,” she said, turning and taking a step into the outer office.

“Night Carol.” His head shot up, “Carol, thank you for doing that.”

She stopped and smiled, “Any time.”

Leo removed his glasses and grinned at her. “How are you getting home?“

“The metro. Then it’s only a ten minute walk from there,“ Carol stated, pulling her hair out of her collar.

He took him a second before he offered her a lift.

At first Carol was reluctant. Leo was a busy man, he didn’t have time to go out of his way and run her home. And of course there was the fact she felt a little over awed by him. Leo was older, wiser, a real political wizz and she was an assistant. Not to mention she had a small, well they all did, crush on him. She opened her mouth to argue but he was already stuffing papers into his briefcase and grabbing his jacket.

The ride to her apartment had been silent except for her shouting directions every few blocks. As they pulled up outside her building, Carol gathered her belongings. “Thank you for the ride, Leo.”

“Thank you for the help earlier.” His grin had left her stomach in somersaults.

She shrugged and opened the door. “Anytime.”

Leo sat in the car watching her climb the steps to the colonial building and put her key in the lock. Once he was sure she had the door opened, he turned back to the road and started the engine.

Carol opened the main door and then turned to look back. He was still parked in the space, engine running. She grinned at his chivalry and went inside.

*~*~*~*

The first sounds of the disco brought Leo back to the present and the wedding reception. The DJ was saying something about the bridal couple’s first dance and he saw CJ giving Toby a gentle shove towards the dance floor. Margaret hovered on the edge of the dance floor, waiting less than patiently for him to join her. Toby, embarrassed from being the center of attention, shuffled over and took his new wife’s hand, guiding her onto the dance floor.

There was something in the way Toby looked at Margaret that left no one under any illusions about how much they loved each other. Their bodies pressed together, noses touching, the rest of the room might as well have disappeared.

Leo smiled to himself at the hard time he had given Toby when they’d first gotten together and shook his head when he remembered the grilling he, himself, had received from CJ even before he and Carol had been on their first date.

A sudden movement caught his eye and he spotted Sam, gently guiding someone on to the dance floor, his hand resting on someone’s back. A glimpse of a red dress and dark hair, and Leo knew exactly who it was. There was no mistaking Carol’s outfit. Everyone else had chosen something pastel and plain, but she’d stuck to her character, the red to emphasize her passion.

Sam slipped his hand around Carol’s waist and took her hand in his. He held her professionally enough, their bodies the correct distance apart, but they moved around the dance floor as one, Carol‘s hand resting high on his shoulder.

A pang of jealousy shot through Leo. He shook his head and thought, not for the first time, that Sam was the sort of man she should be with, young, successful with his life ahead of him. Instead she had picked an old crabby warhorse who was well passed his prime, but it was definitely her who chose him. Carol had left him in no confusion that she wanted him at the State dinner for the English Prime Minister.

*~*~*~*

The state dinner had been a success. The guests had gone home, happy and well fed, with calls for a renewed Anglo-American relationship echoing from both sides. The only people remaining were the staff and a few close friends of the administration.

Josh and Donna were arguing over some jackass comment he’d made earlier in the evening, their voices raising in time to the waving of their arms. Toby had long since gone home, citing Margaret’s morning sickness as the reason, but everyone knew better. The rest of the assistants were surrounding Sam, laughing and joking amongst themselves.

Leo stood on the far side of the room, sipping coffee and watching his staff relax before he inevitably had to drag them back to work.

“You hurt her and you’ll have me to answer to,” CJ whispered forcefully against his ear.

“Huh?” Leo stammered, dragging his attention from the gaggle of assistants.

“Well, you are going to ask her out, right? I mean that jaw dropping dress isn’t going to go to waste.”

“CJ, I haven’t a clue, which isn’t unusual, what you’re blathering on about.”

CJ’s arm made contact with his arm as she sighed, “Okay, Leopold, I’ll spell it out for you. You have a crush on a certain young woman, who just happens to work for me. Said assistant is single, but she’s had a rough time with guys of late. So, ask her out by all means, but hurt her, and well. . . “

He blushed to the tip of his ears and lowered his gaze, “CJ.”

“She likes pralines but not soft centers, roses but hates carnations and she loves Thai,” CJ listed, the corners of her lips twitching up. “And she’s heading this way. Just remember what I said.”

Leo glanced up and his face took a deeper shade of red.

“Hey, CJ. Leo.”

“Carol,” she grinned, watching her assistant take on the same pink hue as her boss. “I need a word with Josh.” As CJ took a step, she gave Carol a gentle shove. “Leo was just saying that he hasn’t danced all night.” She winked at Leo before disappearing.

They both stared at the floor, wishing desperately that it would open up and swallow them.

Leo wondered what a suitable punishment would be for his Press Secretary, maybe a trip with the President, somewhere like Sweden, a country he knew the President had a plethora of trivia on. His mind wandered to the woman hovering beside him. He wondered if CJ had been right about Carol, that he did like her. His thoughts had been centered on her a lot of late, an image of her standing on her front step, from his rear view mirror.

“You obviously have something on your mind, I’ll get back to the others,” Carol mumbled, her head still lowered. It had been stupid, coming over like that on the pretense of talking to CJ. It wasn’t a good idea to go mooning over her boss, especially not at an official function.

“Unless you’d like to dance?” he ventured, ducking his head to look at her. “And I promise, I’m not Josh.”

Her laugh sent shivers down his spine, “Josh is okay if you’re wearing hobnailed boots. Ed is the worst one, Mr. Octopus.”

“Oh, how does that work?”

Carol raised an eyebrow.

“Ed, Larry. I just assumed that as they did everything else together, they danced together.”

“Now there’s an image I didn’t need,” she chuckled. “I’d like to dance.”

Leo extended his hand and she easily slipped her hand into his, allowing him to led her onto the dance floor. As the music played in the background they danced to their own rhythm, Leo holding her firmly against his chest. It felt so natural to both of them that they briefly forgot where they w ere.

The song ended and they stepped away from each other, suddenly conscious of the staff watching them. It was then that his voice dropped and he gave her a hesitant smile. “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

Carol had agreed without hesitation, her eyes dancing as she continued to hold his hand.

That had been their first date. Now, he couldn’t remember what his life had been like before he’d found her.

*~*~*~*

It had been one of those days, Leo concluded as he opened the door to Carol’s apartment and called her name. In the middle of a prep meeting, Margaret had announced, or rather the President had done it for her, she was expecting triplets and he hadn’t taken it very well. In fact he was fairly sure he yelled something along the lines of, “How the hell did this happen?” The look he had received from Carol told him exactly what she’d thought of that.

Then he’d observed her reaction to the news. In front of their friends he’d come to a sudden and shocking realization. Carol was twenty five years younger than him and she was ready to start a family. She had asked for the scan and her eyes had widened at the sight of the tiny blobs of grey. Leo had caught her casting timid glances at him before looking back at the photos, and there was a tenderness to her voice she had previously only reserved for when they were alone.

His own reaction had deteriorated as everyone had become wrapped up in the news, an air of tenderness filling the room. It wasn’t that he hated children, it was more that his track record wasn’t good. The whole love fest was making him nauseous, either that or the look on Carol’s face as she studied the babies. He felt suddenly panicky. Something on her face told them they were heading for a conversation he had never anticipated.

As everyone else had disappeared to a bar to celebrate the news he’d headed home, to Carol’s apartment and to her.

She looked up as he entered her living room and gave him a sad smile. “I wasn’t sure when you’d get here,” she offered, tucking her legs beneath her body and wrapping her bare arms across her chest.

“Margaret and Toby wanted to celebrate alone and the rest are getting drunk,“ he said, removing his jacket and sitting beside her.

Carol nodded, “I think we need to talk, Leo.”

“Okay.” He really needed to stop using that word, too much time with Margaret was rubbing off on him.

“Fine, I’ll start, but no interruptions. I need to say this.” She waited for a sign he was listening then concentrated on speaking to her knees. “I’m really happy for Margaret. She’s with the man she loves, they’re about to have a family.” She couldn’t help but smile. “But I’m not that much younger than her. I’m ready to settle down.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m not saying I want to rush up the aisle now, but I was hoping we had a future,” she sighed. “But your reaction today suggests otherwise.”

“Carol. . .”

“You promised to hear me out. I’m going to want to get married, have a family of my own. If that isn’t what you want too, then there really isn’t any point to this, us.”

Leo swallowed and lifted his hand to cover hers but changed his mind and returned it to his lap. “Honey, it’s not that I don’t. . . I have a failed marriage behind me. Jenny and I split up because I’m a workaholic and I wasn’t a good husband. And Mallory will tell you, I suck at being a father too.”

“Leo, she loves you. There’s no guarantee things wouldn’t be different this time, that you haven’t learned from your mistakes,” Carol said, her hands loosening their grip against her skin, and revealing tiny welts in her arms.

“And what if I haven’t? Look at the age gap. I’ll be sixty next year.” He shook his head.

“So?”

“So, you might end up raising this child alone,” he stated, torn between wanting to wipe the sad look from her face and needing to be honest.

“But she’d be our child, Leo. A part of us.”

“Honey, it’s only been a few weeks,” he started then changed his mind. “Do we need to do this now?”

“I just need to know that you aren’t totally against the idea,” Carol prompted.

“Right now, today, I’m not ready to be a father again. Six months from now, things might be different. What I can tell you, is that I want to be with you. I love you,” he whispered, finally taking her hand. “But before we start planning for the future, we need to spend time together, just the two of us. I’m not adverse to the whole idea, I just think we should wait a few months and talk again. Events today took me by surprise.“

Carol nodded. She didn’t want to leave him, she just needed to know that he wasn‘t going to run out the door at the first hint of commitment. She’d thought he was different to her past boyfriends but she needed to be sure.

Leo opened his arms and she curled up into them.

*~*~*~*

“You’re off the phone,” she stated, coming up behind him, a blanket over her shoulder and Sarah on her hip. Part way across the dance floor, Toby had thrust his daughter into Carol’s arms and dragged his new wife towards the bridal suite. She didn’t hold much hope of seeing either of them in the near future.

Leo turned slowly and gazed up at her. “The bill’s going to sail through committee.”

“What did you have to give them?” Carol bounced up and down and studied Leo’s face.

“The promise of full disclosure of what we find there. It wasn’t unexpected. Anyway, you seem to have acquired a baby?” He reached up and stroked Sarah’s cheek.

Carol smiled, “Mom and Pop have gone to get changed. Sam has Jake and Donna has Anna. They certainly knew what they were doing when they chose three sets of godparents.”

“Can I?”

She nodded and handed over the child.

“Hello little one. Who’s getting to be a big girl now?” he cooed, holding her on his lap and gazing up at Carol. “I’m sorry if I’ve been distracted all day.”

“The world doesn’t stop for a White House wedding, though maybe it should,” she shrugged. “As long as you make it up to me later.”

“Naturally,” he grinned, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. He may not have Sam’s stamina but he certainly knew how to make Carol happy, and satisfied, and that was what mattered.

Carol blushed and dropped into the chair beside him, her hand still resting in his as he lowered them to the table. It had become increasingly obvious over the last six months that Leo was warming to the idea of having a baby, that and the fact it would increase the time they spent making love. Since the day the triplets had been born he had played an active role in their lives, willingly leaving work earlier to play the doting godfather and spoiling them at every opportunity. They both knew now that he was going to make a wonderful father.

*~*~*~*

Carol loitered in his door way, observing him. It was Christmas Eve and the President had taken off on Marine One an hour ago leaving strict instructions that the staff start their vacation. Everyone except Leo seemed to have complied.

Leo smiled to himself. She had been standing there for five minutes, brow furrowed and arms folded across her chest. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before the foot tapping started and the sighing. “You can say it, you know.”

“Say what?”

He raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that she was biting her tongue. “CJ gone?”

“Yeah, she wanted to visit with Margaret before her flight,” Carol replied, stepping further into the room. “And we’re going shopping.”

“We are?”

“Yup, we now have three more to buy for. I did a search on the web and came up with four shops in the district, plus FAO Schwarz and the Disney Store.”

“Wouldn’t you rather go with Donna?”

“She flew home last night.”

“Ginger. Bonnie. . .” he continued as she shook her head. “Okay, let me finish up and we can go.”

Carol gave him a smug smile and turned on her heel. “You have ten minutes, honey, then I’m coming to get you.”

“Promises. Promises,” he called after her.

*~*~*~*

Leo dropped into a chair and closed his eyes.

“That’s meant to be for pregnant mothers,” Carol chided, searching through a rail of baby gowns. She picked up a lemon dress and held it up for Leo to see.

“I’m all for seeing more of your legs but that’s a little too small,” he grinned.

“For Susannah. And I thought the green one for Sarah,” she groaned. “What do you think?”

“This is the third shop we’ve been to. We have hats and bunnies and socks. . . I think the green one’s perfect. What do you want to get Jake?” Leo asked at her pointed glare.

“A Red Sox outfit,” she offered, her eyes twinkling. “What? You think Toby might object?”

Leo stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “How about we stop by the Orioles store?”

Carol nodded and made her way to the cash desk.

After a brief stop at the Orioles store they crossed over to Arlington and the Disney store. Twenty minutes they reappeared, accompanied by Mickey Mouse and eight of his closest friends.

Carol stole glances at him and shook her head. It was definitely his fault. He had to admit to the store clerk that he didn’t know who Scully was, thus they ended up with a history of the most successful Disney movies. Leo had been insistent that the kids had at least one toy from each movie. That had been the point, Carol had shaken her head in despair and dragged him from the store.

*~*~*~*

“Are you still sure you want one?” Leo asked, scrunching his face up and eliciting a squeal from the intended target. Sarah jumped up and down on his knee and grinned, not concerned in the least that her parents had disappeared.

“You’ve changed your mind?” Carol asked, her face falling. This had been the moment she’d been dreading. The one where he told her he was too old for a family, that he’d changed his mind.

He shook his head. “No, but I’ve been thinking.”

“Sounds dangerous,” she teased.

He rolled his eyes, “If we’re gonna do this, we need to get a move on.”

“Oh?” her eyebrow twitched in question. “And you don’t think it might be better if we made things legal first. “Chief of Staff knocks up White House Assistant” wouldn’t exactly do our family values rhetoric any good.”

“Okay, so let’s get married.” Leo gave her his best heart stopping grin and turned his attention to his god daughter. “That’s got her.”

“Leo Thomas McGarry.”

“Carol Anne, soon-to-be McGarry,” he replied.

“Now you’re just being . . . Presumptuous,” she chided.

“Hopeful,” he offered, grinning at her. “By the way, did I tell you, you’re stunning? So?”

She blushed unconsciously. He still managed to make her do that, even after so many months together. Carol waved her hands in the air before stopping herself. There were too many things she had picked up from CJ over the years. “I’m not discussing that, not here.”

“Okay, so how about we table the discussion and get to work on practicing?”

“And Sarah?”

Leo glanced around the room and spied a likely candidate. “Eleanor?”

“Hi, Leo.”

“Carol and I need to shoot off, you’ll take care of this one for me, won’t you?” He lifted the gurgling child into her arms and kissed her forehead. “I’m sure your father would love to see her.”

“The President is going to have kittens,” Carol laughed, sliding onto his lap. “Poor old Sam is going to have to endure another lecture. Can you imagine his face while the President lectures him and Ellie on sex before marriage?”

“And your point is?” Leo asked glibly. “Come on, let’s go home. I want to take you to bed.”

Carol leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips. “I like a man who knows what he wants.“ Sliding off his lap, she reached for his hand and led him towards the door.

“And I knows how to get it,” he grinned, pulling her back towards him for a long passionate kiss.

The End