Title Clubbing Part Fourteen Leo was sensitive to the fact that Josh couldn’t tell anyone at work about his tattoo. Or why his nameplate had suddenly been replaced. Predictably, no-one noticed the subtle difference. Leo suggested Josh should say the old one got damaged. ‘New nameplate, huh Josh?’ Josh had been the last to leave the meeting and he turned at the President’s comment. ‘Yes Sir.’ ‘Deputy?’ ‘Yes Sir.’ With Leo a couple of feet away, Josh didn’t elaborate. ‘It’s nice. Get anything else?’ ‘Sir?’ ‘It’s okay Josh.’ Leo smiled reassuringly. ‘A share in the club.’ Jed whistled. ‘Nice. Anything else?’ ‘Er…yeah…um…’ Leo looked at Jed, who nodded slightly. ‘We’re having lunch in the Residence Josh. Go on up.’ ‘Yes Leo.’ The two men walked slowly from the Oval Office until they were outside the building, following the walkway between the West Wing and the Residence. Bartlet’s agents kept a respectful distance – they were inside the White House grounds and there were a number of agents around – giving the President and his Chief of Staff a rare few minutes of privacy. ‘I didn’t think you could give Josh something like that.’ ‘I can’t. But I did it anyway.’ ‘What did Catherine say?’ ‘She asked me when I was going to give him the other half of my share.’ Smiling, Jed put his hand on Leo’s shoulder. ‘I always liked her.’ They entered the building and continued into the Residence sitting room. Josh was already there, pacing nervously. ‘Dep?’ Josh jerked out of his thoughts at the sound of Leo’s voice. ‘Leo…I…er…’ ‘What is it?’ ‘Who else knows?’ Cross at the tone of the question, Leo snapped: ‘What?’ Genuinely upset, Josh repeated: ‘Who else knows about us?’ Bartlet crossed the room quickly. Behind him Leo pushed the door closed. ‘No-one Josh. Just me. Okay?’ Slowing his breathing, Josh calmed, his shoulders relaxing. ‘Yes sir.’ Leo filled a coffee mug and handed it to Josh. ‘I was gonna give you this tonight, but…’ Pulling a key out of his pocket, Leo handed it to Josh. ‘It’s the key to your room. If you ever use it without my permission, they’ll have to remove it surgically.’ Bartlet stood back. Jokingly he said: ‘It’s not too late Josh. I’m sure you could back out.’ ‘I’m afraid it is Sir.’ Josh lifted the back of his shirt and exposed his lower back. Jed stared at the tattoo for a moment. ‘Nice name.’ ‘Yeah. It beats ‘kid’.’ ‘Dep!’ Bartlet and Josh both looked over to Leo. ‘Sorry Leo.’ Josh dropped his gaze to the floor. Bartlet shook his head. ‘If this ever gets out, it’ll make my MS look like a cold.’ Calmly, Leo said: ‘It won’t.’ Seconds later, a young man appeared in the doorway. ‘Are you ready for us to serve lunch Mr President?’ ‘Yeah.’ ************ ‘Dammit!’ ‘What is it?’ Josh appeared in Leo’s bedroom doorway after a few seconds. ‘I was reading and I spilled my juice on the bed. ‘What have I told you about having breakfast in bed?’ Josh wracked his brains. ‘Nothing.’ ‘Well, I should have done. Go put the sheets in the wash.’ ‘Yes Leo.’ ‘Then go back to bed. It’s only six o’clock.’ ‘Yes Leo.’ ‘What?’ ‘There aren’t any blankets.’ ‘Where are they?’ ‘I sent them to the dry cleaners.’ ‘All of them?’ Leo’s face showed what he thought of the idea. ‘I didn’t know I was gonna need one this morning.’ ‘Get dressed.’ ‘It’s only six.’ ‘You can sit in here. Quietly.’ Leo flicked the edge of the bedclothes over and waited until Josh settled. ‘What are you reading?’ ‘Quiet.’ ‘Sorry.’ ‘Dep!’ ‘Sorry.’ Sighing, Leo pulled the sports section out of his newspaper and handed it to Josh. ‘Read. Quietly.’ The only sounds for a few minutes were the rustling of turning pages. Then Josh began to get restless. ‘Leo…’ Crossly, Leo handed Josh the travel section of the paper. ‘Quiet.’ ‘There’s a thing in here about the Far East.’ ‘Shut up or get out.’ ‘We should go there.’ ‘I’m not gonna tell you again.’ ‘Sorry.’ Josh read on for a few more minutes. At the moment he was going to interrupt Leo, the phone rang. He climbed out of bed and walked into the living room, dropping onto the couch before picking up the receiver. ‘Hello?…David…yeah…hang on…’ Covering the mouthpiece with his hand, Josh called through: ‘Leo can I go sailing with Edward and David?’ ‘When?’ ‘About two hours.’ ‘Will I get some peace and quiet?’ ‘All day.’ ‘Go. Please.’ ‘David?…yeah, okay. See ya.’ Leo sighed as Josh appeared in the doorway. ‘What should I wear?’ Leo dropped his paper and got out of bed. ‘Are you sure Edward can’t pick you up sooner?’ *********** Edward stood in the doorway as Leo pulled the door open. ‘What happened?’ ‘It’s just a bump. He put his head up at the wrong moment just as we were mooring. He’s fine. I got him checked out.’ Josh appeared then, leaning on David’s arm. ‘Leo…’ ‘David, take him into the bedroom.’ Edward was nervous, apologising quickly. ‘Leo, I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.’ ‘Don’t worry about it. Did you have a good time?’ ‘Yeah. You should come next time.’ Leo shook his head, pulling a face. ‘No thanks. I get sick.’ ‘Ah. Well, let me know how he is.’ ‘Sure. Bye.’ Leo walked into Josh’s room and then turned and looked into his room. Letting out an angry breath, Leo didn’t move for a moment. Then he walked into his room. ‘How’re you feeling kid?’ ‘Sore.’ ‘That’ll teach you to keep your head down.’ Pathetically, Josh whinged: ‘It really hurts Leo.’ ‘You want me to take you back to the Emergency Room?’ ‘No!’ ‘Then get outta my bed.’ ‘I don’t think I should move Leo. I might damage myself.’ ‘You’re still there by the time I count five, I’ll damage you.’ Slowly, Josh sat up. As he lifted himself off the bed, he swayed, and Leo caught him. ‘I guess you can stay in here. Just until after dinner.’ Gratefully, Josh sank back down onto the bed. ‘Here.’ Leo handed Josh a tray. ‘Sit up.’ Josh took in the soup and stir-fry. ‘This is nice.’ Leo smiled. ‘It’s from that cookbook you bought.’ ‘Can I watch TV?’ Leo took the tray from Josh’s lap. ‘You can sit on the couch.’ ‘I feel sick if I move.’ Tossing Josh the remote, Leo gave in. ‘Keep the volume down. I’ve got work to do.’ ‘Could I have a glass of water please?’ Rapidly running out of patience, Leo snapped: ‘Anything else while I’m here?’ Putting on an injured expression, Josh said pathetically: ‘I was hit on the head Leo.’ ‘Want a matching lump the other side?’ ‘Edward was really worried about me.’ ‘No Dep. Edward was really worried about me.’ ************* Leo worked until after eleven. By the time he realised Josh was still in his bed, and sound asleep, he didn’t want to wake him. He was too tired to listen to Josh’s, probably fake, symptoms. ************ ‘Is he okay?’ Catherine’s concern came down the phone line. ‘Yeah. He’s just doing his usual thing.’ ‘But a head injury Leo.’ ‘He slept right through all night.’ ‘Oh, Leo! What have I told you?’ ‘About what?’ ‘Slaves and pets Leo. Let ‘em in your bed once, you never get ‘em out honey.’ ‘It’s the second time.’ ‘See.’ ‘He’s waking up. I’ll call you later.’ ‘Who is whose slave Leo?’ Catherine’s amused laughter stopped suddenly as Leo severed the connection. ********** ‘Good morning.’ ‘My head hurts.’ ‘You remember what happened?’ ‘I was watching TV and…’ ‘To your head!’ ‘I got hit by a boat.’ ‘Well, a part of one.’ ‘It feels like a whole boat.’ ‘I’ll get you…no, you get your own painkillers.’ ‘Did you sleep on the couch again?’ Uncomfortable, Leo nodded. ‘Yeah.’ *********** Josh spent the day being fussed over by everyone. By the time they arrived home, Leo was grateful he’d called Catherine earlier in the day. ‘Catherine, come on in.’ ‘How is he?’ ‘He’s fine.’ ‘Josh?’ ‘Catherine!’ Josh came out of the kitchen, allowing himself to be enveloped in a hug. ‘Oh, look at your poor head.’ She held him by the forearms and stood back from him, tutting. ‘You poor thing. How are you feeling?’ Aware of Leo standing a few feet away, Josh said softly: ‘Okay.’ After dinner, Leo took the plates into the kitchen, leaving Catherine and Josh sitting at the table. ‘You sleep in your own bed tonight honey. Leo’s not used to company. Not every night. Okay?’ Josh stared at Catherine until she looked away. ‘Oh honey, I should have kept my mouth shut.’ ‘What about?’ Leo put the coffee jug down in the middle of the table. Catherine looked at Josh, who smiled. ‘Catherine was nagging me about sleeping in my own bed.’ Leo handed Josh a coffee mug. ‘It’s about time Dep.’ ************* ‘Dep, get in here.’ ‘Leo?’ Josh walked slowly towards Leo’s bed. ‘Get your diary. We need to make a date for our party.’ Josh grinned. Within seconds, he was back, laying across Leo’s bed as they worked through the month. ‘How about the twelfth?’ ‘No. The President’s away that weekend. How about the nineteenth?’ ‘I’m free.’ ‘Let’s pencil in the nineteenth and check with everyone tomorrow, okay?’ ‘Okay.’ Josh reached across Leo’s legs and picked up the paperback. ‘Tom Clancy.’ ‘No.’ ‘What?’ ‘No, I will not read you a bedtime story. Go!’ ‘It’s hardly ‘once upon a time’ stuff Leo.’ ‘Exactly. Now goodnight.’ ‘Will we have the same caterers?’ ‘No.’ ‘Can I choose the music?’ ‘No.’ Can I invite Maria?’ ‘Dep…’ Josh wasn’t sure if Leo’s tone was warning or anger, but he shifted so he was lying down the bed rather than across it. ‘Why didn’t Catherine stay?’ Josh laid on his side, his arm supporting his head. ‘Get off my bed, get into yours and go to sleep.’ ‘I’m not tired.’ ‘I am!’ ‘Do you love her?’ The question seemed to catch Leo, and Josh regretted asking it. He got up and walked to the door. ‘Don’t you wanna know the answer?’ ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…’ ‘Come back here.’ Josh suddenly couldn’t guess what Leo was thinking. He moved hesitantly to the bed and sat on the edge. ‘Do you?’ ‘No. I like Catherine. But I don’t love her.’ ‘You sleep with her.’ Leo seemed angered by Josh’s comment. Sharply, he snapped: ‘You’ve never slept with someone you didn’t love?’ The room was suddenly filled with awkward angry silence. Josh got up slowly. ‘She loves you.’ ‘What?’ ‘Catherine. She loves you.’ ‘How the Hell would you know?’ Josh put his hand on the door. ‘Trust me.’ ************** ‘I’m sorry.’ Leo opened his eyes, looked at the clock and groaned. ‘Dep, it’s four o’clock.’ ‘I know. I couldn’t sleep.’ ‘So you thought you’d wake me up?’ ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘Yeah, you said. Now can I go back to sleep?’ ‘You’re still angry with me.’ ‘Really, I’m not. Go back to sleep.’ ‘Say you forgive me.’ ‘What?!’ ‘Say you forgive me then I’ll go back to sleep.’ ‘I forgive you.’ ‘Did you mean it?’ ‘Dep, bed now!’ ‘You could give me a hug. Then I’d know you meant it.’ ‘What are you? Five?’ ‘No. I just don’t think you mean it.’ ‘Oh for…C’mere.’ Leo sat up, reached across, and hugged Josh briefly. Leaning back, Josh smiled. ‘There. See.’ ‘See what?’ ‘Now I know you mean it.’ ‘Maybe the bang on your head knocked your brain out of whack.’ ‘Ah, now I need another hug.’ Leo was losing what little patience he’d had. ‘Why?’ ‘Cos you said a mean thing.’ ‘When?’ ‘You said my brain was…’ ‘I know what I said Dep. Now go back to bed!’ ‘I’m gonna stay here till you hug me again.’ Leo lay down, turning his back on Josh. ‘Fine.’ Leo turned over slowly, remembering suddenly why he was so tired. And wondering why he was so cold. He opened his eyes and saw Josh, curled tightly, fast asleep under a mound of blankets. Sitting up, he pulled his glasses on and reached for his paperback. As he lifted his pillows so he could sit up, he heard Josh’s sleepy voice. ‘You still owe me a hug.’ Putting down his book, Leo leaned across and pulled Josh into his arms, holding him tightly for several seconds. ‘Okay now?’ ‘Did you mean it when you said you forgave me? Ow!’ Josh rubbed his shoulder where he’d banged it on Leo’s knee when Leo had released him suddenly. ‘What do you think?’ On to the next part Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the X-Files Fic Index Return to the West Wing Fic Index