Six Weeks Too Long

Two days later Jed was sitting up reading in bed. Abbey came in and climbed in next to him.

"How's Leo?"

Jed glanced at Abbey, then put his book down, and took off his glasses. He put both on the bedside table, and folded his hands in his lap.

"His heart is in about a thousand little pieces; but I think he's gonna be OK."

"My God, Jed - what did you do to him?"

"I got MS, then I got shot."

"But that was... last year."

"Yeah. And remember how upset you were, and how many screaming matches we had? Remember how long it took for us to get over that? How much talking and crying and reassuring each other we did? Leo hasn't had any reassurance. He hasn't had anyone to hold him when he needs to cry."

"I didn't realize."

"I didn't realize soon enough."

"What did you do for him?"

"I tried to show him know how much I love him, and I made him promise to live if I died."

"Thasn'tsn't kind."

"I love him too much to be kind."

"He needs you." Abbey said, "He's been doing a great impersonation of a rock lately, but he needs you. I'll go away for a bit, sometime soon."

"Thank you Abbey, but you don't need to do that; we'll be OK. All of us."

"Jed, I do need to. I owe it to him." Jed started to say something, but Abbey interrupted, "Do you remember in 1985, when Leo went to Germany for five months?"

"Yes..." Jed was puzzled.

"He did that for me."


Leo McGarry walked into Abbey's medical office.

"Thank you for coming Leo."

"Sure Abbey, what's up?"

"There isn't an easy way for me to ask you this, so I'm just going to be straight; and before you ask, no, Jed doesn't know anything about this. Leo, I'd like you to give me a blood sample. For an AIDS test."

Leo regarded Abbey for a minute, then said,

"My understanding is that the first AIDS patients were identified in 1981."

"To the best of our current knowledge, yes."

"The last time I had sex with a man who wasn't Jed was 1968." Leo said, looking at Abbey stonily.

"You were in Vietnam in 1968."

"That's right."

"Vietnamese men, or..."

"Americans. Possibly a Canadian or two - I didn't ask to see their passports. Military personnel."

"I see. And how just many of these men did you sleep with?"

"None. I didn't sleep with them, I fucked them." Leo was angry, and his voice was strained as he tried to keep himself under control. "The only man I've ever slept with is Jed. The only man I've ever held in my arms is Jed. The only man I've ever kissed is Jed. The only man I've ever loved is Jed. And I would never, ever do anything to hurt him, or you." Leo said, rolling up his sleeve.

"Leo..."

"Take your sample."

"Leo..."

"Take your goddamn sample. In case they're wrong about when it started."

Abbey took the blood sample, and put a dressing on the puncture.

"Leo I'm sorry. I should have... I should have d a d a way to discuss this with you. I got scared."

"Abbey if you're not OK with this, with us, I'll walk away."

"You can't do that."

"I can if I have to."

"No, you can't. It would break his heart. I won't hurt him either. I love him too, you know."

"I know you do. And he loves you. Every bit as much as..." Leo trailed off.

"As he loves you. I know that, I do. I forget sometimes."

"Abbey, I'll go away for a bit."

"Leo, no."

"Just for a bit. A few months. I'll arrange something."

"You don't have to do that."

"It's done."

"Thank you, Leo."


"Jesus." Jed breathed, as Abbey finished explaining.

"I needed you then. He needs you now. I'll go away for a bit, so that you have more time for him, and we'll find a way to get him and you up to New Hampshire for a couple of days."

"That's not going to be easy."

"No, it's not. But it's important, so we'll find a way." Jed reached out and took Abbey's hands, and then brought them up to his lips.

"I am the luckiest man in the entire universe."

"You got that right, bucko - don't you ever forget it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jed walked through the open door of his family cabin in New Hampshire, shaking the rain out of his hair, with Leo two steps behind him. Jed nearly collided with Ron Butterfield who was on his way out.

"The premises are secure sir, and we've set up a perimeter."

"Thank you Ron. Are your men going to be warm enough out there?"

"We'll be fine sir, thank you." Ron said, heading out the door and closing it behind him. Jed took off his coat, and tossed it over the back of the couch. A cheery fire was crackling in the fire place, making the room warm and cozy, in contrast to Leo's icy demeanor.

"So, how long did it take you to plan this little debacle?"

Jed looked over at Leo, not in the least bit surprised he'd been rumbled. Jed threw himself onto the couch before answering.

"A couple of months - but Abbey did all the hard work; I just did what she told me to do."

"You didn't need to do this Jed. I'm fine."

"I know, that's what I told Abbey, but she said she owed you - for Germany in 1985."

"Jesus," Leo breathed.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I said when Abbey told me about it. Anyway, it's done now, so why don't you come here and sit down and relax." Jed patted the cushions on the sofa next to him.

"I don't need to be coddled."

"No, you'll just bottle your feelings up, and be strong, and not need any help or comfort from anyone. Heaven forbid Leo McGarry should show any sign of humanity or weakness."

Leo looked at Jed stonily, furious with him.

"My name is Leo, and I'm an alcoholic and a drug addict," he said.

"Dammit Leo, I'm not asking you to unlock the closet and let all the demons come out to play. You've had a hell of a year. I've had a hell of a year, and you know as well as I do that I never would have made it without you being right there to support me every minute of every day. All ask asking is for you to let me support you for a change." Jed's voice softened, "Can't you let me carry the burden, just for a little while?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I can do that." Leo said regretfully.

"Why not?"

"Because if I put it down, I don't know if I'll have the strength to pick it back up again." Leo answered harshly.

Jed suddenly understood that Leo's greatest fear was that if he let go, even for a moment, that it would all come crashing down, and that he would somehow fail his friend.

"You're not going to fail me Leo."

"I wish I was as sure of that as you are."

"You don't need to be sure. I am. Now, would you please just take off your coat and come sit down."

"I don't think that would be a very good idea, sir."

"Leo, I didn't go to all this trouble - Abbey didn't go to all this trouble - so that you could stand on the other side of the room and call me 'sir'. What's wrong?"

"Did you evenp top to think what this is going to look like?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This. It's going to look like exactly what it is."

"What it is, is the President of the United States and his Chief of Staff spending a working weekend in New Hampshire."

"You know what I mean, sir."

"You're getting paranoid in your old age my friend. I'm a happily married man. So were you up until a year ago. We both have grown children. I'm a grandfather for God's sake. If anyone starts tndernder, - which they won't, because there's no reason for them to - 'planning to invade Canada' will be a hell of a lot higher on their list of what we might be doing here this weekend than 'boinking like rabbits'."

Leo stared at Jed for a minute after the diatribe ends, then rubbed his hands across his face.

"You're right Jed, I'm sorry. Sometimes I..."

"It's OK, I understand." Jed paused for a minute, "You know, some days, when we're in a meeting with the staff; you'll be sitting across the table from me, and I'll look at you, and just for a minute, I can't begin to understand how everyone else in the room could possibly fail to see what you are to me."

Leo's face softened, the last of his anger and tension seeping away.

"People see what they expect to see," he said quietly.

"Uh huh. Come and sit down now?" Leo took his coat off and hung it on the back of a chair, then walked over to stand in front of Jed.

"Thank you." he said.

"As I keep saying, it's Abbey you need to thank."

"Oh I will, don't worry." Leo sat down on the sofa next to Jed, then sighed and leaned into his shoulder. Jed put his arm around Leo and pulled him close. Leo snuggled into the embrace.

"Even it they saw this, all people would see is an old man comforting his best friend."

"Most people."

"True. I wouldn't be surprised if Charlie knows. He seems to know most things about me."

"Sam might have guessed."

"Sam Seaborn? Why would he have guessed?"

"Sam's gay, he might have noticed some things..."

"Sam's gay? But there was that call girl - and wasn't he engaged before he came to work on the campaign?"

"Yeah; but Sam's cut from the same cloth as I am. He's in love with Josh."

"Josh! But Josh isn't... is he?"

"No, Josh most definitely isn't."

"How do you know?"

"I just know. I think the word they use for it these days is 'gaydar'."

"Cute." Jed was silent for a minute "Poor Sam. I wasn't, you know, before we... maybe..."

"It's not the same. Josh, much as I love the boy, is a train wreck waiting to happen when it comes to relationships. It would never work out."

"Now you see, I don't get this sort of office gossip. How come you get this sort of office gossip?"

"I get it from Mariterite."

"Ah. Does she know about us?"

"Yeah."

"And she's OK with it?"

"Yeah. She spits in your coffee whenever you yell at me, though."

"You're kidding. Please tell me you're kidding." Leo grinned 'yes' at him.

"Ron knows." Jed said pensively.

"He'd have to. Either that or be deaf."

"Hey - we're not that loud." Leo raises his head off Jed's shoulder for a minute to look at him.

"Well, not often."

Leo settled back into Jed's arms, and they are both quiet for a while, staring into the fire. After a bit Leo said softly, "Jed?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go be loud?"

[fade to black]