Title: Clubbing Part Nine Leo endured the guided tour in the back of a comfortable chauffeur-driven car. Josh was enjoying himself far more, badgering Leo into grudging acquiescence of the need to visit all the sites the driver dropped them off at. And be photographed in front of them. At the final destination of the tour, Leo noticed Josh looked tired. And he saw Josh’s eyes narrowed as he climbed gingerly out of the car with the Statue of Liberty visible through the windshield. ‘Josh, you feeling okay?’ ‘Yes Leo. Come on.’ Back in the car, Leo was becoming concerned. Josh was obviously tired, but it was more than that, Leo was sure. ‘When we get back, you’re gonna rest before we even think about dinner.’ Josh didn’t bother protesting. Partly because he knew it would be a waste of time. But mainly because he really was tired. And his body ached. ‘Yes Leo.’ In the apartment, Josh headed straight for the bedroom. He pulled off his jacket and tie and dropped onto the bed, massaging his right arm. He pulled his hand away as he realised Leo was in the doorway. ‘When you’ve had a sleep, we’re gonna have a talk about this.’ Not wanting to discuss his tiredness, Josh protested: ‘Leo, I’m fine. Sightseeing overload, that’s all.’ Leo made a disbelieving noise and sighed. ‘I’ll wake you in time for dinner.’ ************* Josh woke slowly, taking some time to work out just how tired he really was. After a few minutes deliberation, he decided he was really tired. Although he worked long hours, they were mainly spent sitting behind a desk. He didn’t consider himself unfit, but he knew he tired more easily than he had before…even in his mind, he still found it difficult to form the words ‘shooting’ or ‘Rosslyn’. And wandering around the tourist sites of New York had proved more tiring than he imagined. Added to which was the mental tiredness involved in the lifestyle he was slowly getting used to. He was still finding it hard to read Leo, something he’d always imagined he did fairly well. But work Leo and this Leo were definitely two completely different people. One had set patterns of behaviour and he knew fairly well how the Chief of Staff would react to a given situation. Leo was much harder to anticipate. And to please. He grabbed his watch and frowned at the time. Almost six. He’d been asleep for over three hours. And he still didn’t feel anywhere near as refreshed as he hoped he would have done. Leo’s voice made him jump. ‘You awake kid?’ ‘Yes Leo.’ ‘Get dressed. Nothing fancy. We’re eating in tonight.’ When Josh walked into the living room, he moved to sit on the floor. Leo moved his finger from where Josh was about to sit to the couch. ‘Sit here. This is a vacation kid. There is no need for you to tire yourself out.’ Assuming correctly that the comment didn’t require an answer, Josh stared at the floor, wishing his arm hurt less and he was less tired. ‘Tomorrow we’ll stay in and you can rest up.’ ‘Leo…’ Josh whined. ‘If you can’t tell me when you’re tired, I’m just gonna have to guess.’ ‘I will.’ Josh groused, adding quickly: ‘In future.’ Leo got up when the entryphone buzzed. He listened, then pressed the door release. By the time the knock came at the front door, Leo had his wallet in his hand. He took the bags from the young man. ‘How much?’ ‘Er, seventy eighty-five.’ Leo pulled eight ten dollar bills from his wallet. ‘Thanks.’ ‘Enjoy.’ Josh got up from the couch and took two of the four bags from Leo, carrying them to the table. ‘I thought you were gonna let me organise the food while we’re here.’ ‘I was. I figured since I didn’t know how long you were gonna sleep, I’d better take care of it, just for tonight. Get the plates.’ When he walked in from the kitchen two plates and two sets of cutlery in his hand, Josh was amazed at the food on the table in front of him. This was no ordinary take-out. This was home-delivery of restaurant food. ‘That was really great. I didn’t realise that restaurant did take-out.’ ‘They don’t.’ ‘Then how…’ ‘You should save your voice Josh. For all the talking you’re about to do. Come on.’ Josh followed Leo into the living room and sat on the couch beside him. ‘Get comfortable. I think we’re gonna be here a while.’ Josh squirmed for a couple of minutes, eventually sitting sideways on to Leo, his legs bent, his arms hugging his knees. ‘Sit like that, you’ll get indigestion.’ Josh sighed and stretched his legs, frowning slightly when Leo lifted them onto his own. Sharply Leo snapped: ‘Now quit wriggling and explain to me exactly why you didn’t think I’d wanna know how tired you were today kid.’ ‘I didn’t want to spoil things.’ ‘So you thought you’d keep going until you dropped?’ Leo retorted sarcastically. ‘No. But I didn’t want you to think I was making a fuss.’ ‘Hey kid, not wanting to eat broad beans is making a fuss. Being too tired to think straight is not.’ ‘I wasn’t that tired!’ Josh protested. ‘You slept for four straight hours in the middle of the day!’ Trying to lighten the atmosphere, Josh offered: ‘Maybe it’s jet-lag.’ Evidently Leo wasn’t impressed. ‘We’re in the same time zone.’ ‘Oh I don’t know Leo. I just get tired sometimes.’ Josh snapped. Leo’s voice was softer now. ‘How often is ‘sometimes’?’ Josh sighed, trying to work it out. ‘Less often than I did. Maybe, um…once a week.’ ‘If you don’t sleep at your desk, how do you get your rest?’ ‘I catnap. I schedule a fake meeting with someone, then find an empty room and set my alarm.’ ‘Josh, you can’t do that!’ ‘I’ve been doing it ever since…’ Leo heard the catch in Josh’s voice and felt the tension in his body. ‘It’s okay.’ Josh shook his head. ‘No, you’re right. I should be able to stay awake.’ ‘I didn’t mean the sleeping thing. Although, yeah, that really has to stop. It’s dangerous for one thing. And it’s not good for you, for another.’ ‘Dangerous?’ ‘Yeah, if there’s an alert, the Secret Service would think you were in the meeting, and there’d be a nightmare when you weren’t.’ ‘Okay, I’ll sleep at my desk in future.’ ‘No Josh, you won’t. If you’re tired enough to need sleep, you’ll go up to the Residence and they’ll make up a bed for you.’ Relieved the conversation could move on, Josh smiled. ‘Okay.’ ‘And you still can’t bring yourself to talk about…’ ‘No!’ Josh almost shouted. ‘I’m tired, I’m going to bed.’ He began to swing his legs to the floor. Leo caught hold of his ankles. ‘No, you’re not.’ ‘Leo, you can’t make me!’ ‘Wanna bet kid?’ Leo’s voice held enough of a warning edge that Josh reluctantly settled himself back down. ‘I thought talking with Stanley had helped.’ ‘It did.’ ‘So how come you freaked out just now?’ ‘Leo, I really am tired.’ ‘Okay, go to bed. We’ve got all day to talk about this tomorrow.’ Josh couldn’t help the edge in his voice. ‘I can’t wait.’ *************** ‘Get the door kid.’ ‘Are we expecting someone?’ ‘Yeah.’ Josh opened the door and stepped back into the apartment as a young man pushed past him, struggling with a black leather thing Josh couldn’t identify, held closed with nylon straps. ‘McGarry?’ ‘No, but yeah. Come on in.’ Leo came out of the kitchen. ‘Thanks for coming on such short notice.’ ‘Hey, no problem. Any friend of Edward’s…’ ‘Okay. I’ll be back in…’ Leo looked at the young man. ‘About an hour and a half Mr McGarry.’ ‘Enjoy it kid.’ Josh was panicking now it looked like he was going to be left alone with the man. ‘What?’ The door closed and Josh backed away from the young man. Who smiled. ‘Did Mr McGarry not say? I’m Kenny. I’m a masseur. You’ll need to lose some of those clothes, and then we’ll see if we can get your arm a little more comfortable.’ Making a mental note to remember to yell at Leo when he came back, Josh went into the bedroom and pulled off his sweatshirt. Kenny looked at Josh. ‘Um, you’ll need to lose the jeans and the undershirt. You can keep your underwear on or take it off, whatever. I’ll just work around it if you’d prefer.’ Josh frowned. ‘Yeah, I’d definitely prefer.’ Kenny smiled. ‘Sure, no problem. You’re alone with a stranger in your apartment you’re probably more comfortable keeping them on.’ If it was intended to break the tension, Josh seemed not to find the comment at all amusing. He was very uncomfortable. Pulling his undershirt off, he dropped it, along with his jeans, onto the bed and walked back out, hoping he didn’t look as uncomfortable as he felt. ‘Look, Mr McGarry thought you might like this. He said you were tense and he thought this would relax you. I can go, if you’d prefer. But I promise you’ll enjoy it if you let me work on you. And you’re quite safe with me. You’re not my type.’ ‘What is ‘your type’?’ ‘That would be women.’ Reassured, Josh lay face down on the thick leather-coated mat. ‘If you can, lay so your head is in the gap. Your forehead should reach the top edge of the cut-out. If not, I’ll wait till you get comfortable. Whatever works for you.’ Josh squirmed for a few seconds, then he heard Kenny’s voice, softer and quieter. ‘Okay, this will feel really warm, then it’ll cool. Anything you’re not comfortable with, just tell me, and I’ll stop. If you need a break, let me know. Oh, and falling asleep is definitely encouraged. You’d be amazed how much easier my job is on relaxed muscles. Okay, I’m gonna start now. Take some nice deep breaths. Good.’ Josh had no idea at what point he fell asleep. But when he woke, he was covered with a warm blanket and Kenny was drinking coffee with Leo. Who Josh hadn’t heard come back. Moving slowly, he stretched his body, moving his neck slowly, relishing the loose feeling in his neck and shoulder muscles. And the fact that his arm no longer ached. Sleepily, he murmured: ‘Leo, can we take Kenny back with us?’ Leo laughed quietly. ‘Sure kid. How ‘bout it Kenny?’ ‘I think my regulars would get just a little upset if I upped and left.’ Josh breathed deeply, still totally relaxed. ‘I guess you want your mat back, huh?’ ‘No rush. I don’t have anything else today.’ Well, not since Mr McGarry paid me as much as I’d earn in a week to cancel my day and spend as much time as I needed to get the kinks out of your body. And, boy, was it hard work. I am gonna need a massage tomorrow. After a few more minutes dozing, Josh thought he’d fall asleep again if he didn’t get up. Reluctantly, he climbed out from under the heavy woollen blanket and walked into the bedroom. Looking at the clock, he was surprised to see it was almost midday. He’d been asleep for around two hours. And fallen asleep only three hours after getting up after a full nights’ sleep. Frowning, he walked back into the living room. Leo was sitting alone. ‘Have some orange juice. If you have coffee, it’ll wake you up too quick.’ ‘Okay.’ Josh walked into the kitchen and pulled the carton out of the fridge. When he walked back, glass in hand, he dropped onto the chair opposite Leo. ‘That was really good. Thanks.’ ‘You’re welcome kid. Now, what d’you want for lunch?’ Leo pushed a leaflet across the table. ‘Oh, I don’t care. You choose.’ ‘Okay. But don’t blame me if you don’t like what I get.’ Leo smiled as Josh reached for the menu. ‘Leo, these are all salads.’ ‘Yeah. Kenny said you should have something light for lunch.’ ‘Did he specify salad?’ Warningly, Leo said: ‘Choose, or I’ll choose for you.’ Leo scanned the menu half-heartedly. ‘Chicken.’ ‘Okay.’ Leo pulled his phone out of his pocket. ************** ‘I don’t wanna go home.’ ‘It’s only Tuesday.’ Josh sighed. ‘We could stay here forever.’ ‘You must have absorbed too much massage oil. What would we live on?’ ‘We could find jobs here.’ Leo smiled. ‘You could. I’m too old to change track.’ Josh frowned. ‘I could earn enough for both of us.’ Leo got up, ruffling Josh’s hair as he did so. ‘You haven’t understood our arrangement at all have you?’ Josh laughed, leaning back in his seat. ‘Maybe I’d make a good…what do you call yourself?’ Getting up to answer the door, Leo said: ‘Hungry.’ Poking at his plate with his fork, trying to find the chicken among the salad leaves, Josh remembered their earlier conversation. ‘Edward changed from being a sub.’ Leo nodded. ‘Edward never wanted to be a sub. But it’s useful to learn what it’s like.’ ‘You learned from Catherine’s mom.’ ‘Yeah. She was amazing…’ Leo closed his eyes, lost in the memory. Josh sat quietly, waiting for Leo to come back to the present. ‘Eat your dinner.’ Josh laughed. ‘Did you learn that too?’ ‘What?’ ‘How to think of two things at once.’ ‘No. That’s just habit.’ Josh realised they were having a rare few minutes. No roles, no-one else likely to interrupt. Just them. And he was determined to make the most of it. ‘When I’m President, will you be my Chief of Staff?’ Leo looked up. ‘When you’re President, I’ll be too old.’ Josh noticed Leo didn’t seem to find the idea of Josh as President at all strange. ‘Don’t I get to hire who I want?’ Leo shrugged. ‘I guess.’ ‘Then I’ll come and drag you out of your retirement home and wheel you back into the West Wing.’ They both laughed at the mental image. ‘I don’t think I’d wanna be President.’ Josh’s hand moved unconsciously to his chest, his fingers feeling the scar beneath his t-shirt. Leo said nothing, but saw the movement. After a few seconds, he got up. ‘You got room for dessert?’ ‘Are you kidding? I’ve got room for a whole other meal.’ Leo came back with apple pie in a silver foil dish and cut a large piece, lifting it onto a plate. ‘One of the perks of being President is a chef who cooks whatever you want.’ ‘Anything?’ ‘Yeah. You wanna spend eight years eating deep-fried stuff, you can.’ Josh wrinkled his nose. ‘Maybe four.’ Shaking his head, Leo handed Josh a fork. ‘Maybe I’d have to stay with you, President Lyman, just to make sure you ate properly.’ Josh cut the pie with the side of the fork. ‘Does the President always do as his Chief of Staff says?’ Leo nodded. ‘Always. If he knows what’s good for him. Finish up, then come through okay?’ Somehow sensing the change of atmosphere in the comment, Josh replied automatically. ‘Yes Leo.’ 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