Title: WHkid@aol.com Part Four ‘How’s everything going Leo?’ ‘Fine Sir.’ ‘Leo, I can hear that tone from here. What is it?’ ‘You sure about the Manchester place Sir? I mean the re-decorating?’ ‘No, but Abbey’s worried it won’t be done for Thanksgiving if we don’t start now. That wasn’t what you meant, was it? Is there a problem with the company?’ ‘No Sir. It’s fine.’ ‘You’re lying, but I’m late. So we’ll talk about this later. Everything okay with Zoey?’ ‘Yes Sir.’ ‘At least now I believe you. I’ll call later.’ ‘Sir.’ Leo replaced the receiver and tried to work out exactly what it was about Sarah Bennett’s company he had a problem with. Then he realised it wasn’t the company. It was her. Sighing, he pushed aside the folder she’d left and started on the Education Bill briefing document. ************** Leo clicked on the ‘Favourites’ icon and brought up Sarah’s website. Clicking on ‘Updates’ he saw a story – Sleepless nights – and clicked on it. ‘Sarah Bennett.’ ‘It’s Leo McGarry, Ms Bennett. I’ve just been on your site.’ ‘Did you check your inbox before you called?’ ‘No.’ ‘Check it, call me back.’ Leo sat for a few seconds listening to the disconnected line buzz before replacing the receiver. To: Leo McGarry From: Sabia I liked the idea of a ‘Day in the life of’ story. So it’s here. It’ll be on my site later today. Oh, and names have been changed to protect the guilty. Sabia – Webmistress Leo saved the email into the ‘Sarah’ folder then frowned at the prompt which came on screen. ‘Margaret!’ ‘Leo?’ ‘What do I do now?’ ‘Click ‘Download’.’ ‘And?’ ‘Now click ‘Yes’ to open it.’ ‘Okay, thanks.’ Margaret took Leo staring at her as a hint that he wanted her out of his office and left. Sleepless Nights by Sabia No, Mr McGarry, it isn’t here. Read it on the website. If you managed to open this you can manage that. Sabia – Webmistress Leo picked up the phone and dialled. ‘SaBIA Designs. Ian Anders.’ ‘Hi. I’d like to speak to Ms Bennett please.’ ‘And you are?’ ‘Leo McGarry.’ Leo listened to the muffled conversation he could hear. ‘Sarah!’ ‘Yeah?’ ‘It’s the guy from the White House.’ ‘Oh no.’ ‘Be nice to this man.’ ‘Why?’ ‘My couch, remember.’ Leo heard Sarah’s theatrical sigh, then: ‘Sarah Bennett.’ ‘Interesting take. And almost factually correct.’ ‘Almost?’ ‘Yeah. I don’t chew gum.’ ‘Once again, Mr McGarry, your ego gets the better of you. That story wasn’t about you. It was about your fictional counterpart. Who does.’ Looking quickly at the screen, Leo realised Sarah was right. The main character was, as in the TV show, called Ted not Leo. Dammit. Hurriedly, Leo said: ‘I have to go.’ Fighting the urge to laugh, Sarah said: ‘Me too. It was nice talking to you Mr McGarry.’ ‘Yeah.’ Sarah laughed and replaced the receiver. ‘Oh dear. That’ll teach him.’ ‘Sarah, my couch?’ ‘Go and pick one out. Today. Before the cheque I banked is cancelled.’ Ian laughed. ‘Okay.’ ***************** Leo pulled into a space between several large vans and a couple of expensive cars. The Secret Service personnel dotted around had clearly been aware of his arrival for some time and a couple of agents approached him as he climbed out of the car. ‘Mr McGarry. You wanna take a look around?’ ‘Yeah, I thought I’d see how it was going.’ ‘Sure, Sir, come on in. Ms Bennett’s just going over a couple of things with the contractors, but she’ll be right down.’ So she knew he was here. Okay. But she didn’t know why. ‘Mr McGarry. I wasn’t expecting you to brave the paint splashes and wallpaper paste.’ ‘I’m tougher than I look.’ ‘Really? Would you like a tour?’ ‘Okay.’ Leo followed Sarah round the rooms, some of which were finished, others still obviously needing work. After about half an hour, they both heard a crash. Sarah ran to the staircase and looked down. One of the men in paint-spattered overalls was picking up the pieces of a broken vase, the flowers scattered on the floor. Deciding not to go down, Sarah ended up shouting over the banister rail. ‘Eddie, I just bought that! What happened?’ One of the Secret Service agents held up a hand. ‘Sorry, my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going.’ ‘Well, look next time. That was a really nice vase. Eddie, remind me to call Ian later and get him to buy another one, okay?’ ‘Yeah, sure Ms Bennett.’ Sarah turned back to Leo. ‘Oh well, if that’s the worst thing that happens, we’re not doing too badly.’ ‘How much longer you think you’ll be?’ ‘Eight, maybe ten days. Why?’ ‘I spoke to the President last night. The First Lady was asking.’ ‘Tell them eleven days. That way I look good if we finish in eight.’ ‘You sound like the guy who fixed my plumbing. Told me eight hundred dollars, ended up charging me twelve hundred.’ ‘There’s a difference between overcharging and overestimating, Mr McGarry.’ Leo had to concede she was right. ‘I guess. So, anything else I should see?’ ‘Three of the bedrooms are done. The others are almost finished. Want to see the master suite?’ Leo wasn’t sure he wanted to see in a bedroom, but shrugged. ‘Okay.’ ************ ‘It looks better than it did on paper.’ Leo was definitely impressed with the difference Sarah had made to the house. ‘I should hope so Mr McGarry.’ ‘I have to get back.’ ‘Okay. Thanks for coming.’ ‘Let me know when you’re done.’ Sarah nodded. ‘I’m sure you’ll get an invitation to the housewarming, won’t you?’ ‘Yeah.’ Sarah walked past a couple of Secret Service agents and waited until they were out of their hearing. ‘I don’t know how the President and Dr Bartlet stand it. Having people watching you all the time. I can leave any time and it’s driving me mad. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have to put up with it for years on end.’ ‘Tough, I guess. But it’s the price you pay.’ ‘I wouldn’t pay it.’ ‘You’re not American, you couldn’t be elected.’ ‘Neither am I over thirty-five.’ Sarah smiled at Leo’s reaction to her comment. Embarrassment. And something else she couldn’t identify. She sighed. ‘Will you come back?’ Leo unlocked his car door. ‘No. Just let me know when you’re finishing up, okay?’ ‘Of course. Bye.’ Continued in Part Five Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the X-Files Fic Index Return to the West Wing Fic Index