The airport was busy with travellers heading home from D.C. for the weekend. Except for Will. He was heading to Houston to work on speeches for an upcoming visit. He wasn’t entirely sure why he needed to actually go there to write but someone had come up with the idea and Ginger had handed him his plane ticket so off he went.

“I love you,” he said as they approached the gate.

Mallory stopped dead.

Will looked back over his shoulder and waved his hand as the gate door closed behind him.

She watched him go, her eyes widening, unable to let him know she had heard him.

Minutes later she watched as the plane backed away from the gate.

*~*~*~*

They had met three months before in Abbey’s office. Not met exactly as been introduced. It’d had the very strong scent of Abbey’s matchmaking.

She had phoned Mallory and invited her for lunch. When Mallory arrived, Will and his sister had been leaving the First Lady’s office.

Abbey gave them both a wide grin and asked Elsie to wait in her office. “Will, this is Mallory O’Brien. Mallory, this is Will Bailey.”

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Mallory teaches fourth grade. Will is our new Deputy Communications Director,” Abbey explained when they both fell back into silence. She waited for them to continue the conversation, when they didn’t she sighed audibly.

“I should, um, get back. If you’ll excuse me ma’am. . .Toby’ll. . .” he trailed off and pushed his glasses back on his nose. It was a nervous habit of his, especially around women and he didn‘t realize how endearing it was.

The First Lady waved him off. “He’s going to fit in perfectly around here,” she said mildly. “A boy genius with absolutely no idea how to deal with women. Nice ass too.”

Mallory followed her gaze and nodded. Sam’s replacement was certainly cute in an innocent looking way. Not that she was looking for a man, far from it. After Richard and then Sam’s sudden departure for pastures new, she had decided to take a break from the dating pool.

“If I wasn’t with Jed. . .“ Abbey mused, her eyes dancing with mirth.

“Abbey!“ Mallory groaned turning to look at her friend and then turning back to watch Will as he searched for the right corridor.

“I’m just saying. He’s new.“

Why that was suddenly her problem Mallory wasn’t sure but she knew Abbey well enough to know it wasn’t going to be allowed to rest. Abbey would end up scheduling dinners and for the next year Mallory was going to find herself seated next to Will. It wasn’t as if they had to get married or date. Just a dinner, maybe show him around. Besides, maybe they would become friends. Decision made, she excused herself and headed down the corridor after him. “Will?”

He turned and waited.

“Here’s my number. Call me.”

“Why do I feel like I’m on candid camera?” Will asked dryly glancing down at the small rectangular card.

Mallory raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry?”

“Josh put you up to this, didn’t he?”

“Josh?”

He scanned the corridor and found it empty. “I’m the new guy. They’re trying to break me in

gently.”

“I can assure you I’m not part of one of Josh’s schemes,” she assured him firmly. “He’s scared of me.”

Which was an emotion he could associate with. “Really?”

“I should probably tell you that you work for my father.” Mallory gave him an apologetic look. “Leo McGarry.” With that she turned and headed back towards Abbey’s office.

Will watched her go, his glasses askew, his cheeks tinged, not really sure what had just happened.

*~*~*~*

Will had finally plucked up the courage to call her. It had taken three days, three long days while he had studied Leo in every meeting, trying to gage whether he would kill him for asking his only daughter out. He’d also done a little research of his own, well, asked Donna who Mallory was. As it turned out she had a history with his predecessor, which hadn’t ended well. Donna had assured him that it was no reason for him to not to ask her out, and practically nagged him until he did.

He took it as a good sign that she remembered him when he called, and the fact she was still awake at midnight. Of course she was probably wondering about the five hang-ups before him on the machine. The conversation was a bit of a blur, not least because Toby was hovering in his doorway waving a folder at him but he did jot down the time and place.

It was a simple date. Lunch on a Sunday.

Will arrived early and paced up and down outside the restaurant. It wasn’t that he was nervous, well, actually yeah, he was. His last girlfriend had turned a little psycho on him hence the fact he had waited a while to date again.

“Hey,” Mallory said, appearing at his side.

He turned and turned to look at her. “Hey Mallory.”

The awkwardness it seemed was destined to last through the entrees. A stammered comment here and there from Will and an inquisitive Mallory. Each time he turned pink and pushed his glasses further up his nose she smiled and leaned over further in her dress. Will blushed red at the rather emphasized cleavage.

It would be easy to play him she decided as they ordered coffee and dessert but that wasn’t what she wanted. The one thing she was sure of was that he wouldn’t hurt her or string her along and she wasn’t about to do the same to him.

A love of sweets it seemed they had in common. He told her of his failed attempt to win his staff over by making rice krispie treats and she told him of her passion for cheesecake. The conversation moved to other topics and finally she breached through the shyness that was Will.

The sun was shining when Will paid the bill and offered to take her home. They walked through the streets to her rented apartment in no hurry.

“Well, um, . . .” Will stuttered as they stopped outside her apartment building.

She smiled and shook her head. “Call me.” With that she leant in and kissed him, her lips barely brushing his before she bounded up the stairs and into her apartment building.

Will brought his fingers to his lips and smiled. This one definitely wasn’t psychotic, a little scarey maybe but that much he could handle. He turned and promptly walked into a lamp post.

From her window Mallory watched, a small smile playing on her lips.

Will rolled over and extended his arm. It took a moment or two before he realized that the bed was empty. He opened first one eye then the other and confirmed that Mallory was indeed missing.

“Mal?”

A disjointed voice carried from the bathroom.

He hit the bedside light and the room was suddenly bathed in light. Pulling the sheet around his naked waist he climbed out of bed. His eyes went to the red-stained sheets and he quickened his pace. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

Mallory tightened her arms around her stomach and looked up at him through red-rimmed eyes as he entered the bathroom.

“Oh, sweetie.” he dropped to his knees before her and reached for her hand. “What can I do?”

She had always suffered from painful periods, cramps that sent her scurrying for candy and a hot water bottle. It had just been a long time since she’d found herself in a guy’s apartment at the time. Richard had always avoided her at “her time.”

“How about I get you a hot water bottle, some tea maybe?” He tried to think of everything Elsie used when she was sick. “Chocolate?”

Mallory nodded and lowered her gaze. “I need to go and get something.”

Will cleared his throat. “Are they in your purse?”

It was a few seconds before she replied. “I haven’t got any with me.”

Realization dawned and he took her by surprise. “Let’s get you in to bed and make you comfortable and then I’ll go to the all night drug store.”

In that second she had realized something, that it really was love, and that he was definitely a keeper.

Three weeks later he had been sent to Houston.

In DC Mallory was left to ponder their relationship. It wasn’t that they had been together all that long or that it was any different than being with Sam. Will worked almost as much and seemed even more obsessed about perfection, but they spoke every day and the endless supply of candy he bought her kept the staff room well stocked.

The difference was that she loved looking at things through Will’s eyes. Everything seemed so simple and straightforward to him. He’d had a happy childhood, surrounded by a big family whereas hers had been spent watching her father drink himself into oblivion. With him she had fun and he never trivialised her opinions or ideas.

The phone rang and Mallory pushed her marking to one side. “Hello.”

“Hey, baby,” he said, his spirits lifting at the sound of her voice.

She rolled over on to her side and plumped up a pillow. “How’s Houston?”

“Hot.”

It was the third night he’d been away and every night he had complained about the weather. The problem was by the time they ended the call they were both even hotter. She had learnt earlier on that Will wasn’t as naïve as he made out. His girlfriends had been few and far between, but what he lacked in experience he more than made up for in enthusiasm.

“When are you coming home?“ She never complained about his work habits, accepting that, like her father, he was proud of his job and wanted to make a difference, and not wanting to ruin what was in every other respect a healthy relationship.

His smile electrified the phone line. “Tomorrow.“

Instantly her mind flew to the airport and his parting statement. Neither had mentioned it, and she had briefly wondered whether he had meant to say it. The thing with Will was that he never said something he didn’t mean, at least in the short time she had gotten to know him, she believed he didn‘t.

She didn’t either. Which was why she had been more than a little careful as to when she told him. She loved him, more than that there seemed the potential for a future together. Which is why she had come to the realization that it was time for him to get to know her father.

Will walked down the gang plank and into the terminal, his suitcase in one hand and lap top in the other. It had been four days of hell, well not hell exactly, but staying in a hotel without air conditioning when it was 90 degrees outside was pretty close. At least Toby seemed happy with what he had written, which was a miracle in itself. He was so intent on getting back to the office that he didn’t see her there.

“Hey,” she said, appearing at his side.

“Hey.” Will smiled and allowed his eyes to roam over her. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

She nodded and took a step closer. Without warning she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

Will let go of his suitcase and placed a hand on her back, holding her in place as he deepened the kiss. “Wow. I didn’t expect that,” he said when they finally broke for air.

“Did you mean what you said?” Her voice was suddenly timid and nervous as she awaited his answer.

“When?” They had talked every night while he was away about their days but of nothing consequential.

“When you left.”

Will raised an eyebrow and dropped his gaze. “I didn’t think you had heard that.” He hadn’t in all fairness meant to say it. Not that he didn’t mean it. It was just that he was expecting her to say it first. Of course he’d sent her candy and made breakfast in bed, and all the other romantic gestures to show her he cared, it was only the words that were missing. On the plane to Texas he’d been living in dread, panicking that she would run for the hills.

“Yeah.”

“Yes.” He pushed his glasses up his nose.

“I love you too.” She turned and moved to leave but he grabbed her arm.

“Really?”

Mallory nodded and smiled. “Yes. I want you to have dinner with my father.”

*~*~*~*

Events pre-empted the dinner.

The night before they were due to go out, Zoey went missing.

The West Wing was in chaos and Will, and Leo for that matter, had spent the days that followed trying to keep the administration running while Mallory travelled to Baltimore to stay with Ellie.

There was no guide book for what to do, or how to behave. A feeling of helplessness filled the West Wing as the staff went about their jobs.

All Will could think about was what the President could do. He had been on the verge of telling the President to step down when the Jed Bartlet had come to the same conclusion. Will had let out a sigh of relief, all the while thinking that if it had been his child, the red headed girl, Mallory’s daughter, that had been kidnapped all thoughts of not negotiating would have flown out of his head.

The mere idea of having a child with Mallory brought a smile to his face, a moment of intense joy, that had carried him through the next few days. Until that moment he hadn’t thought about a future, a specific one, only that he wanted Mallory in his life. The twins and Zoey had made it all the clearer for him that that was what he wanted.

He had been aware of his feelings for her from day one, from the meeting in the First Lady’s office, a fear of her, of what she could do to him. The first kiss had convinced him there was more to it, the potential for so much more.

Love had come quickly, the slight butterflies when she called him to flirt, the stirrings when they had gone to the opera and she had worn a backless green dress and of course the night he had seen her in pain.

Helplessness and fear in hindsight had convinced him that he didn’t want to spend his life without her. A woman’s body was a mystery to him. Of course he had a mother and half-sister but for the most part he had grown up with brothers, the agony etched on Mallory’s face, the tears running down her cheeks had surprised him and frightened him. There was nothing he could do to make things better

He wanted to protect her, in that much he and Leo had a common goal, and he never wanted to be far from her side again. That was the moment he realized it was love, a little unconventional maybe but the signs had been there.

The kidnapping had convinced him of something else - that he wanted to marry her eventually - and that meant getting Leo to accept their relationship. In the midst of the crisis he made a silent promise to himself and to Mallory - that the dinner would go ahead and her father would come to like him.

*~*~*~*

“Will, are you alright?” Mallory asked, tapping lightly on the closed bathroom door.

The sound of further retching brought a small smile to her lips. “Really, my father isn’t all that bad. You work for him, for. . .”

The door open a crack and a green looking Will peaked out. “He’s done everything but send me to Siberia to sabotage it.”

“You mean Texas wasn’t bad enough?” she teased, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. “He’s just looking out for me.”

“That’s sweet, honey. Maybe this dinner isn’t a good idea though. What if I look at you in a way he doesn’t like? Is he going to poison the food?”

“Daddy isn’t like that,” she said taken a back. “He just doesn’t like me dating losers or having lunch with fascists. He did very little to break Sam and me up.”

Will raised an eyebrow. “Very little?”

“Well bar the night he made Sam write a birthday toast over and over again, and gave me a copy of an opposition argument Sam had written.”

The deputy communications director turned a new shade of green and ducked back into the bathroom.

“He actually really likes Sam.”

Which Will decided might explain why he’d spent the ten days since returning from Houston re-writing everything he’d written at least six times.

*~*~*~*

Mallory had taken the executive decision on where to have dinner. She didn’t entirely trust her father not to choose somewhere overly expensive or even organize for them to eat with the President. Neither of those options would put Will at ease.

The restaurant was in Georgetown, not far from the apartment she was now renting and the two of them walked, arriving early. They introduced themselves to the hostess and waited for the table to be ready.

Mallory wandered over to the large fish tank and leaned down to stare through the glass. “Josh, Sam, Richard. . . “

“What are you doing?” Will asked, peering over her shoulder at the lobsters. They glared back at him.

“My daughter likes to name them. She thinks I won’t eat them then.” Leo peeked over her other shoulder.

“Mr. McGarry. Leo. Sir.” Will stuttered, turning abruptly at the voice of his employer. Not exactly the start he’d hoped for.

“Daddy.” Mallory gave her father a hug and stepped back to take Will’s hand, squeezing it firmly.

“Excuse me, your table is ready,” a young blonde hostess announced. “If you would like to follow me. . .” She began to guide them through the restaurant to a small table laid for three.

“Be nice,” Mallory hissed, leaning in close to her father’s ear.

He gave her a grin and a “What me?” gesture.

Once they were seated the hostess took their drink orders and handed them menus before disappearing.

Will pretended to scan the menu in a desperate attempt to avoid conversation.

“So Will, was there something you wanted to ask me?” Leo asked.

Will glanced up at Mallory, his eyes widening at the implications. “Oh, no, Sir, I mean Leo.”

Leo nodded, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “And you’re taking precautions?”

It was Mallory’s turn to hide behind her menu, her face taking on a deep red hue. She rolled her eyes dramatically.

“This isn’t going to be like Sam or Richard all over again, is it?” her father asked, pulling the cardboard away from her face.

“Daddy!”

Leo shrugged. What was the point of having kids if you couldn’t torture them a little? Besides now that Zoey was safe and the President was once again the President he was entitled to relax a little, if only for a few hours.

“Richard was only good for one thing. Free tickets to the game. She gave up her teaching career to follow him to New York then he decided to transfer,” Leo continued, focusing on Will. “And Sam, well . . .”

A waiter appeared with a glass of water and two iced teas. He hovered, waiting to take their orders.

“There was a photo. . .”

Mallory groaned audibly before turning her attention to the waiter. “I’ll have the vegetarian lasagne. Will?”

He glanced longingly at the lobster tank and debated ordering the large evil looking crustacean Mallory had named Sam. He thought better of it. “Chicken and rosemary.”

“Daddy?” she asked with an icy edge to her voice.

Leo gave her his widest grin and ordered lobster thermidor.

The table lapsed into silence as the waiter left. Mallory was switching between giving her father evil looks and shooting Will reassuring smiles.

Leo for his part was enjoying himself. It had been a long time since Mal had brought anyone to dinner with her father and he rarely got to torture her boyfriends. He actually rather liked Will, after all the boy was naïve enough to be putty in his daughter’s hands and he didn’t seem to have a malicious bone in his body. The boy also had a good political mind, ready to take the fall whenever necessary - a good trait in a future son-in-law.

“All I know about you is that you’re the youngest son of one Thomas Bailey,“ Leo announced after a lengthy silence. “Do you have any other family? Brothers?”

“Um. . . Yes. Two older brothers.” Will raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend.

“Single?“

“Is there something you’re trying to tell me, Daddy?” Mallory asked quietly, suddenly concerned that her father had major news of his own.

The knowing look her father gave her concerned her further. “I was actually thinking of Margaret. She could do with a nice guy. Besides this way we can keep it in the family.”

Mallory rolled her eyes and groaned. Her father was having way too much fun at her expense. His words drifted into her mind - family. That was the sign it was going to be okay.

Mallory let out a sigh of relief and ran her hand up the inside of Will’s thigh.

He sat up suddenly, shooting her a petrified look and giving Leo a fixed smile. As her fingers moved higher up his leg, his face turned crimson and he almost choked on his drink. The evening was going to end in one of two ways, he decided - Leo shaking his hand or Will making a complete fool of himself, which was definitely the most likely. Will closed his eyes and said a silent prayer.

*~*~*~*

“Well that wasn’t too bad,” Will commented as they walked hand in hand back to her apartment. Leo had offered them a lift but he had declined, slightly concerned that he would insist on waiting and taking Will back to his own apartment.

“Not bad at all,” Mallory agreed, stopping in her tracks and throwing her arms around his neck. It seemed her father really liked Will, from now on it was going to be plain sailing. But of course it never happened that way. She just hoped that they would have a little more time before they were tested.

As Will wrapped his arms around her and pulled he against him, her thoughts moved to how the evening was going to end. She only hoped they would make it back to the apartment first, or Leo wouldn’t be so quick to shake Will’s hand the next time.

The End