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Under Duress |
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Author: Maeve Feedback: yes please! Sorsha16@hotmail.com Spoilers: 18th and AT: after Mrs. Landingham’s death.
The fact he couldn’t find her was what worried him. He’d called for her,
as he normally would have, but she hadn’t shown up. Leo dipped his head down,
catching Ginger’s eyes. “Have
you seen Margaret?” “I
told her to go home.” The other woman spoke gently, but with a strict sense of
authority and he was slightly taken back. “Excuse
me?”
Ginger lifted her head, eyes wider than usual. He could see they were red from her
crying. She ran a hand through her hair and stood slowly. “I
told her to go home Mr. McGarry…” there was a sudden
quality of fear in her tone. Like he was going to yell at her or
something. He just
wanted to know where the hell his secretary was. “Can
you tell me why?” he asked gently, trying to calm her.
He watched as Toby’s assistant arched a brow and stared quietly at him. There
was still a thick pain in her face, that he felt written across his own as well. “She
was crying in the ladies room. I found her, I told her to go home. She went.” Small
flashes of hurt washed over her features. “Mrs.
Landingham?” he queried with a hushed tone.
She bent her head and sat back down slowly, not replying. He could tell when she
looked back up to him sadly that he was right. With a sigh Leo offered the young woman a
sad smile. He went to move away and paused a few feet from the desk. “What
time?” “Half an hour ago.”
Christ, he wasn’t even sure if she was there or not. He left another rap on
the door to her apartment, hoping to god she was safe. Leo tried the doorknob gently,
trying to make his own way in. It
wouldn’t budge. “C’mon Margaret.” He resorted to pounding a bit harder
on the door. He was in mid hit when the door swung open. He froze,
his arm still in the air. After a silent moment he dropped his hand to the side. “I’m
sorry.” She murmured, and he watched her drop her eyes away from his. “Are
you okay?” his words were rushed, thick. A little too fast and a
little too emotional for his good graces. Leo put himself back into check, and only
let the concern show through his eyes.
She never actually answered the question, just turned on him and left the doorway,
allowing him into her apartment. Leo shut the door behind him, dropping his briefcase to
the floor carefully. “I
should have told you I was leaving.” He watched her tuck her jean clad legs up under
her body as she sat heavy to the couch. At a glance she looked like a child, legs under
her, eyes dazing, and a pout on her bottom lip. He had the idea that she was feeling more
emotion than a child could. That she was hurting…and he couldn’t fix it. “From
what I hear you were pretty upset.”
Her head snapped up sharply and she arched a brow. He could tell she had been
crying. There were dark spots under her eyes, rimmed red from crying. Tear stains marked
her cheeks, red against her usually pale tones. He watched her tuck her hands into the
extra long sleeves of her sweater and lift her legs, wrapping her arms around them. Her
chin fell to the tops of her knees. She
looked all the more a child. “Ginger
told you.” “In
her defense, it was under duress.” He murmured and pulled off his coat.
He gently moved to the couch, sitting beside her in silence. He watched her until
she finally shifted her head to face him. Margaret settled her cheek on her knees, eyeing
him slowly. “Leo.” “Yeah.” He idly reached out to her, tucking her hair off
her face. “Have
you cried yet?”
The soft question smacked his in the chest. The Chief of Staff swallowed hard and
brought the other hand to her face as well, lifting her head so he could match her eyes. “Not
yet.” He admitted. “Will
you?” she begged, in a hush so low he barely heard it. “Yes.”
After he said it, she moved. Leo pulled his hands back as the red headed woman
uncurled herself and moved towards him. He took her gently in his arms as she moved in. He
felt her shudder a breath against him, and he squeezed tighter in return. When her hands
fell flush against his chest, he relaxed against her. “I
miss her.” She murmured into his shirt. “Yeah,
I know.” It was a boyish voice, unsure and nervous. He slid his hand against her,
fingers making circles on her back. With a sigh he dipped his head, kissing her hair
softly, and pushing his cheek to the locks. “Will
you stay with me?” her voice was getting quieter with every sentence. He closed his eyes, “Of course I will.” He
carried her to bed that night, softly and easily. She swung up into his arms, lethargic
and pliant in his hold. Leo walked her into the bedroom, moving her easily into her own
bed. He lay her softly down, sitting beside her sleeping form. Leo brushed his hand over
her face moving her hair out of her eyes. She was fluttered into a light sleep, her body
still moving slightly, in the realm of ‘not quite asleep’. He heard her moan,
and in a moment of weakness he lay down beside her, admitting the innocence of her face. With a shaky touch, he traced the features she offered in sleep. His fingertips stroked
her nose, dropping then down to brush her cheekbone. He ran the back of his knuckles over
her jaw, touching her bottom lip with his own sigh. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to stop her from crying, to take away the dark circles under her eyes and the
red rimming from tears already wept. He wanted her to stop shivering in her sleep. He
wanted the world to stop just for that second. He wanted to kiss her. "Stop it." "What?" as he spoke he caught her eyes open a bit, pained and dark. "Stop looking at me like that." she murmured, her hand lifted and touched his
fingers. Leo froze when their skin brushed and held. "Like what?" "Like…like you’re…" "About to kiss you." He whispered and watched her
nod. "Okay." He murmured slowly, blinking his eyes down. The silence dropped heavily between them then. He watched her hand lift and reach for
him. Leo let her touch his neck, pulling him close as she did it. He shifted on the bed,
letting her rest into his arms, letting her be silent in comfort. She turned in his arms,
her back pressing hot adjacent his chest. "When you cry…" "I’ll come to you." He whispered. Without leave he pressed his face into her hair, pulling in the scent of her shampoo.
Leo put his head down in grief, kissing the back of her neck through the red locks. He
felt her reach down, grabbing his hand and pulling it against her chest in comfort. He
gave her a soft noise of agreement, letting his fingers fold out to stroke her throat as
they lay there, and he suddenly knew she was crying…there in his arms. "Oh baby," he pulled at her body, cursing himself for letting the name slip
off his lips. He used his body force to roll her to face him, lifting her eyes to his. Leo pressed
his cheek to hers, holding her into him as she cried. Her shuddering breath felt warm on
his ear and he knew he couldn’t handle her crying like this much longer, it was too
much for him. To hold her as she let her soul break…he couldn’t do it. It would make him cry. "Don’t do this to me." He whispered, pulling her to look at him. He watched her swallow hard and blink fast, trying to tuck back the tears. He smiled
weakly in support, brushing back her hair. "Breathe." He whispered, "just breathe." Her chest shuddered and she inhaled deeply, eyes closed, her hands resting on his as he
held up her face. Leo pressed a warm kiss to her forehead; his fingers still on her
cheeks. He didn’t let himself think about what he was doing, and instead just let
himself wash soft kisses down her face. When her lips touched his, deepening the kiss, he
jolted, finally realizing what he had done. "Margaret - " The sharp glance of her eyes stopped his voice, and he just looked to her quietly. Leo
swallowed and she blinked, letting off a sigh. She pulled another breath and moved in
closer to him, disregarding the uncomfortable moment. Instead she pulled him close by the
shirt, resting her body into his. Leo closed his eyes, just holding her against him in comfort. He felt his eyes sting, tried to tell himself not to. Not to let his emotions get a
hold of his control. He tried to swallow the hard lump in his throat, and instead ended up
making a soft noise of discouragement, pressing his face back to her hair. He felt it coming, and new he was helpless to stop it. He finally let himself cry. And she knew it. "Oh Leo." Click Leo and Margaret to send feedback:
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