Leo sat at the dining table in the Residence, trying very hard to concentrate on the contents of his newspaper and not on the massive argument that was taking place between the President and the First Lady somewhere down the hallway. It wasn’t possible to make out much of what his old friend and his wife were arguing about but occasionally he heard the word “jackass” thrown around with some vehemence in Abbey’s distinctive, throaty voice. Jed’s voice was a little too deep in timbre for Leo to make out any of the insults he was hurling at his wife but somehow Leo suspected he wasn’t holding back either – he had never known either of the Bartlets to hold back during a full blown domestic fight like this one. Leo was a much more controlled personality and preferred his disagreements to take place by more covert means, making his emotions felt with an exasperated sigh, an angry shake of his head, and a stream of firm, steady, well-argued words. He admired the Bartlets their full throttled approach to each other though. It wasn’t his way, but he empathized with Abbey because he knew from experience that backing down before Jed was always a mistake. Jed liked being called on what he was saying – he liked to engage in sometimes heated debates, and, as president, he was acutely aware of the danger of surrounding himself with yes-men. Nobody, Leo thought wryly to himself as he tried in vain to concentrate on his newspaper, could ever accuse Leo McGarry of being Jed Bartlet’s yes-man. Even so, Leo’s relationship with Jed was much less volatile than the one he had with Abbey; Leo knew how to read Jed, how to defuse the tension when he was spoiling for a fight, and how to deflate him when he needed calming down. Abbey knew how to read Jed too, just as expertly, as only a wife of 30 odd years standing could, but she was as high strung as her husband so she often chose to come out with all guns blazing during arguments than to try and defuse them. They had a highly combustible marriage but Leo had no doubt whatsoever that it was also one of a deep, abiding love and affection. No husband and wife would argue this intensely, this regularly, if the making up wasn’t good fun afterwards.

The argument came to an end amid much slamming of doors. Leo winced, unsure what to expect when his lunch date finally arrived. He put his paper aside, stood up, and took a deep breath, waiting to face his fate. A few seconds later the dining room door flew open and Abbey Bartlet swept into the room. Her face was flushed, her brown eyes sparkling, and her hair a little mussed. She slammed the door hard behind her, put her hands on her hips, glared at Leo and said, in what Leo was thankful was a stage whisper and not a loud yell:

“Leo, if you don’t spank him again soon I swear he’ll be the death of us all.”

Leo gave a little smile, and stepped forward to take her arm and deliver a calming kiss to her cheek. He steered her smoothly towards her chair and she sat down with a deep, heartfelt sigh.

“The jackass! I could…ARGH!” She let out a scream of pure exasperation and Leo smiled at her sympathetically.

“The chef brought your salad about ten minutes ago,” he told her, pointing at the plate on the table as he took his own seat. “It looks good. Why don’t you have something to eat?”

She gazed at him suspiciously. “Are you trying to distract me, Leo?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Would I do that, Abbey?” He replied smoothly, with a raised eyebrow of his own. She looked at him for a moment, and then burst out laughing. He gave a little chuckle and poured them both a glass of mineral water.

“You treat me like a cat,” she chided, taking a sip from her glass. “Like my fur got mussed and you have to stroke it back in the right direction.”

“I like cats.” Leo grinned at her. She grinned back.

“Don’t you want to know what we were arguing about?” She asked, placing her napkin on her lap.

“Not unless it’s something I should know about,” Leo replied. “I’d never interfere in your marriage, Abbey. You know that. Neither you nor he would be able to trust me if I did that and with the…somewhat delicate arrangement we currently have, trust is pretty crucial, I think. Don’t you?”

Abbey sighed, and nodded. “You’re right, Leo. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to drag you into anything or make you take my side, but this wasn’t just a little fight. He’s been impossible for days – you must have noticed.”

Leo considered this for a moment and then gave a nod of his own. “He’s definitely been a little jittery,” he agreed.

“A little!” Abbey threw her hands up in the air.

“Okay – a lot,” Leo conceded.

“I’ve tried everything to find out if there’s something bothering him but he’s as close-mouthed as a clam.” Abbey shook her head. “A spanking usually helps loosen his tongue and relax him,” she said, fixing Leo with a meaningful gaze. “And then we can all get some peace!”

“Uh-uh.” Leo shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way, Abbey and you know it. I agree that he often experiences some kind of release of tension after being spanked but I can’t spank him as a punishment, just because he’s annoying us. Hell, if I did that, I’d have to start spanking half the staff and then my right arm would seriously ache.” He grinned at her and she sighed and managed a small smile in return.

“Oh, Leo, I didn’t mean to suggest…” she began, and then she reached out and put a hand on his arm. “I know you would *never* abuse that trust he has in you, and I know you only spank him because he needs it and not because he’s the most infuriating man on the planet – which incidentally he is. I’m just saying that I think he needs it right now.”

“Maybe.” Leo shrugged. “You’re probably right – but it isn’t fair to assume that just because he’s in a bad mood he needs to be spanked. We’re all entitled to some grouchy days. I’ve had a few myself and I can categorically state that spanking would most definitely *not* have improved my mood in those circumstances!”

“Leo…” Abbey shook her head. “We’re talking about Jed, not you. Not you, not me, not Toby or CJ or anyone else…we don’t want or need it, but he does. It’s just one of those things about him.”

“I know.” Leo nodded. “He certainly seems to be pushing people to their limits at the moment, looking for some kind of reaction. He’s bitten the head off just about every staffer in the building this week and I got a double dose myself yesterday.”

“If he’s yelling at you then you know it has to be serious,” Abbey said quietly. “He never yells at you, Leo.”

“Oh he didn’t yell at me,” Leo took a sip of his water and pressed his napkin to his lips. “He knows not to do that. He just kept pushing away at me – I think he wanted some kind of argument.”

“Is there a reason why he’s behaving this way? Some kind of stress in the job?” Abbey asked. “I mean, a stress other than the kind of stress that he thrives on!” She gave a little smile, which Leo returned. Jed Bartlet loved being president and he was excellent at it. Being president energized him rather than draining him, and he had never failed to live up to the demands of the job. There were occasions when some aspects of his work got him down but Leo couldn’t think of any that might have been upsetting the president at the moment so he shook his head.

“What about the state visit to Britain next month?” Abbey asked. “Is he nervous about that?”

“Hell no! He’s looking forward to it,” Leo replied. “He keeps talking about all his fond memories of living there when he was teaching at the London School of Economics. He’d go tomorrow if he could.”

“Well then, I don’t know why he’s behaving this way,” Abbey sighed. “Thank god you’re around, Leo because it’s at times like this that I despair. I really do.”

Leo gazed at her thoughtfully. He was enormously fond of Abbey and viewed her as his greatest ally in dealing with their mercurial president. Her words weren’t lost on him either. It had been Abbey’s idea that Jed ask Leo to punish him the first time, a couple of years previously, after Jed had admitted to Leo that he had multiple sclerosis and had kept it a secret from his best friend. Leo had been upset by the deception and Jed had brooded on his guilt for several days. He had talked his unhappiness through with Abbey, had spoken of how he felt a need to atone in a physical way for the pain he’d caused his friend, and it was she who had suggested that he do just that, if it would help. Leo had been surprised when Jed had asked him to whip him with his belt, and had only agreed because he could see how desperately Jed needed the absolution that he seemed to feel only a physical punishment could give him. Their current relationship had grown out of that. Maybe it had been inevitable that the relationship would turn sexual, but while Jed had assured him that his wife had given them her blessing, Leo had still been concerned about how Abbey felt about it.

They had met to talk the matter over, and thus started a tradition of weekly lunches where they could both freely discuss how they felt – with no topic barred. That honesty was crucial and had helped forge a bond of genuine affection between them. Leo had been surprised by some of what she had told him over that first lunch. Jed was a high maintenance man – and while Abbey had been more than able to handle him before his presidency, the great weight of such high office had placed an additional strain on them both. Abbey was a busy woman with many other demands on her time, and while she put her husband first, she felt torn. She was grateful to Leo for being there and being able to do something for Jed that she knew she never could.

Now, a couple of years down the line, they were both very comfortable with the roles they played in Jed’s life, and he seemed equally comfortable with them. True, he didn’t actually *like* being spanked, but on some level it seemed to work for him, leaving him much more relaxed and at peace with himself after, so Leo didn’t question it. If Jed needed this, then he’d happily give it to him. He had to admit that he didn’t find the role of disciplinarian too onerous; if Jed one day came to him and said he didn’t need spanking ever again Leo knew he’d be fine with that, but he’d become something of an expert top over the past couple of years and had blossomed into the role as he had come to fully understand his lover’s complex psyche, and he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t come to enjoy the role in many ways.

“Thank god tomorrow is Friday,” Abbey said, finishing her salad with a sigh. “Do you think you’ll be able to take care of it, Leo?”

“I don’t know. I’ll do my best.” Leo smiled at her. “If there is something troubling him then I’m sure I’ll get to the, uh, bottom of it tomorrow, if you’ll excuse the unforgivable pun.”

Abbey gave a throaty laugh and gazed at him affectionately. “I have every faith in you, Leo. Something has to be troubling him – he’s not normally this grouchy without good reason. And if it’s just general accumulation of stress then I’ve never known an occasion when one of your spankings didn’t cure him of that.”

Leo smiled at her, the weight of responsibility he bore for the President settling more heavily around his shoulders. Abbey was right though – Leo was very adept at relieving Jed’s many stresses. He knew that his friend sometimes didn’t like the methods he employed in order to do so, but even Jed couldn’t deny that it worked.

Even so, Leo didn’t want to fall into the trap of thinking their Friday night activities might cure Jed of anything that might be troubling him. He preferred their Friday night sessions to be recreational as much as possible, so he decided to give his friend every opportunity to confide his problems first and get them out of the way before the following evening. That way they could just concentrate on enjoying themselves during their precious night together.

Leo returned to the West Wing immediately after his lunch with Abbey, and, after receiving a nod from Charlie that the President was alone, he entered the Oval Office. Jed was sitting at his desk, his handkerchief in his hand, but he stowed that away in his pocket the moment Leo entered, in an almost surreptitious way. He looked flustered and a little red faced but Leo didn’t have a chance to comment on that as Jed launched immediately onto the offensive.

“How was lunch with Lady Macbeth?” He asked, grabbing a folder off his desk and throwing it into his briefcase with considerably more force than was required.

“Lunch with Abbey was very nice, thank you,” Leo replied smoothly.

“What did you talk about? Oh, wait, let me try and guess,” Jed said facetiously, gazing skywards. “Could it have been *me* I wonder?”

“No, we discussed the ratification of that treaty with Pakistan and then we moved onto a debate about the wording of that congressional bill you want to veto and we finished up with a discussion about the contents of the State of the Union speech… yes we talked about you – that’s partly the point after all,” Leo finished, rolling his eyes.

“Ah – so you admit it!” Jed said triumphantly.

“I do. Totally and unreservedly,” Leo replied calmly.

“Hah!” Jed looked as if some of the wind had been taken out of his sails. “What did you say?” He frowned.

“Uh-uh.” Leo shook his head. “Drop it, sir. Abbey won’t ever trust me again if I go blurting everything out to you straight after we’ve had lunch together.”

“I don’t like it, Leo.” Jed shook his head.

“You don’t mind it. You’d hate it even more if we got together for lunch every week and *didn’t* talk about you,” Leo grinned. Even Jed had to concede that point and he gave a reluctant laugh and shook his head.

“I guess. Well, whatever.” He waved his hand around negligently and glanced back at the file on his desk. “Is there anything I can help you with, Leo?” He asked, as Leo continued to stand there, watching him.

“No – I was wondering if there was anything I could help you with, Mr. President,” Leo said softly. Jed’s head jerked up, and he looked a little startled.

“Such as?” He asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“You know, if there’s anything you wanted to discuss, anything that’s been on your mind – it doesn’t have to wait until tomorrow night, sir,” Leo told him, in a gentle tone of voice. “We can talk whenever you want.”

“Yeah.” Jed shrugged, glancing back at the papers on his desk as if they held some special fascination for him, and it looked to Leo as if he was deliberately avoiding meeting his gaze. “There isn’t anything, Leo,” he said dismissively, not even bothering to look up.

“Okay.” Leo stood there for a moment, wondering if Jed would change his mind, but the president’s gaze remained fixed firmly on the papers he was reading, so, after a few seconds, Leo gave in and returned to his office, shutting the interconnecting door quietly behind him. He sat down at his desk with a sigh; something didn’t feel right. Usually Jed became bad tempered when very stressed, and he sometimes became subdued when he was wrestling with a particularly difficult personal issue, but his current jittery mood was out of character and it rang all kinds of warning signals with Leo. Something was certainly wrong, and whatever it was, Leo would undoubtedly get it out of Jed during their Friday night session – so why was Jed being so secretive today?

Jed was fidgety and jittery all through the following day. He was preoccupied, made frequent trips to the bathroom, and seemed to be having trouble concentrating during any of his meetings to the point where Leo wanted to tie him to the chair to stop him getting up and pacing around distractedly. Jed’s mood seemed to worsen as the day continued, until finally Leo decided that enough was enough, and people were beginning to wonder what the hell was going on with the president. He brought Jed’s schedule to a close early, and directed the senior staffers to leave the room. Jed looked at him questioningly.

“Something wrong, Leo?” He asked, with a look of such innocence on his face that Leo would quite happily have spanked him there and then.

“You tell me,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’ve been like a cat on a hot tin roof all day and we’re not getting anything achieved when you’re in this kind of mood. Were you even listening to anything Toby just said?”

“Toby says a lot.” Jed shrugged, and began humming annoyingly as he sat down at his desk.

Leo glanced at his watch and then back at his infuriating lover who, still humming to himself, was going through his desk drawers apparently looking for something, and studiously ignoring Leo in the process.

“Okay. That’s it,” Leo said tersely. “I think it’s time you went to the Blue Bedroom.”

“What?” Jed’s head snapped up in surprise.

“You heard. Go and get yourself ready. I have a couple of phone calls to make but I’ll be along in a few minutes.”

“Now?” Jed looked surprised but Leo didn’t miss the expression of relieved anticipation in his eyes either. “It’s only 6pm!” Jed exclaimed, glancing at his watch and then back at Leo as if for confirmation that his best friend, chief of staff, lover and top was really giving him leave to play hooky like this. “It’s a bit early isn’t…?”

“Sir.” Leo stopped Jed dead in his tracks with just the tone of his voice. “I think this is for the best, don’t you? It’ll give us longer to…” He trailed off meaningfully and gave Jed an encouraging smile. He could see his friend thinking through the ramifications of the change of time. Jed hated being spanked and anything that brought forward the timing of that spanking wasn’t welcome to him. On the other hand, he knew that spanking was a prelude to love-making and talking and he did so enjoy the feeling he had after being spanked, and the quality time he got to spend with Leo.

“Well, if you put it like that…” Jed gave a heartfelt smile, his desire to spend more time with his lover clearly winning through over his dislike of the inevitable spanking, and Leo felt a flood of warmth course through his entire body. He enjoyed releasing the relaxed, eager to please personality that Jed Bartlet kept imprisoned behind all that presidential authority and he knew Jed was looking forward to an evening during which he wouldn’t have to be responsible for anything. Even if the price of that sense of freedom was a spanking, it was a price Jed was willing, if not exactly eager, to pay. “Don’t be too long, Leo,” Jed instructed as he left the room. “I’m not in a very patient mood today.”

“In case we hadn’t noticed,” Leo murmured under his breath in the direction of Jed’s disappearing back. He returned to his office and became engrossed in a call that turned out much longer than he had expected. He still had one more call to make before he could leave the office but an idea occurred to him. He closed all the doors in his office to get some privacy, and then put through a call to the phone in the Blue Bedroom and waited a couple of seconds before a startled Jed answered it.

“Hello?” Jed said uncertainly, clearly wondering who on earth was calling the extension.

“Hey,” Leo purred softly. “I’ve been held up but I won’t be much longer. I’d like you to undress and then lie on the bed face down waiting for me. Put a pillow underneath you – I want your ass raised and ready for me.”

There was silence for a moment, and then Jed gave a little chuckle. “Well…that sounds like a dumbass kind of thing to do,” he said.

“It isn’t a request, Josiah,” Leo said firmly. “Think of it more by way of an order, to get you in the right place mentally for where you need to be tonight.”

There was another silence and then Jed gave a little sigh. “Okay – but you’d better not be long, Leo, or I’ll feel stupid. Hell, I’ll *look* stupid too,” he grumbled.

“I’m the only one who’ll be seeing you and I’m used to you looking stupid,” Leo replied cheerfully. Jed gave another snort.

“You shouldn’t talk to your president like that,” he said. “It destroys my presidential mystique.”

“Remind me about that presidential mystique thing again when you’re lying butt naked in front of me with your ass in the air,” Leo shot back. He heard Jed give another little chuckle.

“Okay, okay. *Sir*,” Jed said pointedly. He put the phone down and Leo sat there for a moment, considering his lover’s response. It always took a lot of persuasion on Leo’s part to get Jed to give up his innate presidential authority and just get back to being himself again, so he wasn’t exactly surprised by the way the conversation had just gone. If he was lucky, Jed would be lying naked on the bed when he got to the Blue Bedroom, but he suspected that it was far more likely that he’d find a fully dressed Jed lounging around in the armchair instead – and Jed would have thought up a very good reason for not following Leo’s orders but Leo would know that the only reason for his sub’s disobedience was his need to make sure that Leo would set firm boundaries and stand equally firm in defending them. It was like a dance, and they went through it more often than not. Leo was used to it and actually rather enjoyed it – he had a whole store of meaningless little orders that he liked to give his lover – not because he particularly cared if they were obeyed or not, but because it helped Jed to have something to push against until he got to where he wanted to be in his head. Arguing with Leo was one of his favourite pastimes, and he got a curious sense of pleasure from gradually surrendering to Leo both verbally, physically, and, finally, emotionally. Leo had become familiar with the process, although he still occasionally found it incredibly humbling that this man, who he admired and adored above all others, should choose to offer up the very core of his being so intimately and completely to him.

Leo finished his phone calls and then glanced at his watch again – 6.40. He smiled to himself as he thought about the pleasures of the evening ahead, and got up, shouldered himself into his jacket and told his surprised secretary that he was leaving.

“What…to get something?” Margaret looked at him, her big, bambi eyes confused.

“No. I’m leaving. For the day,” Leo clarified.

“You’re leaving for the day?” Margaret glanced at her watch. “Now?”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, let’s not do this, Margaret,” Leo growled. “I’m leaving early. It’s not cause for alarm, or some kind of inquisition.”

“Oh. Okay.” Margaret sat bolt upright at her desk, still looking confused.

“I have a meeting with the president at the Residence. Does that make you feel better?” Leo said with a sigh. Margaret relaxed and smiled.

“Yes, Leo,” she said, clearly finding comfort in the fact that Leo wasn’t just sloping off early; Margaret liked order and certainty and for people to behave pretty much the same every day, without variation.

Leo walked the short distance from the West Wing to the Residence with a distinct spring in his step. He didn’t care whether a naked or fully clothed Jed was waiting for him when he got to the Blue Bedroom – he was looking forward to getting his hands on his lover and playing his body like a finely tuned musical instrument until Jed all but sang under his expert touch. Leo was very confident that it wouldn’t be long before Jed was naked, whatever state of dress he was in when Leo arrived.

Leo reached the door of the Blue Bedroom and frowned – there were no security agents outside which was unusual…in fact, it could only mean one thing…Leo opened the door with an angry flourish of his hand – to find it completely empty. He gazed around blankly, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. He had expected Jed to disobey his order – but not to the extent of not actually being here when Leo arrived. Leo felt genuinely angry and stomped over to the bed, which showed some signs that Jed had at least sat on it. He noticed Jed’s cuff links abandoned on the nightstand and his tie was slung untidily over the back of the armchair but there was no sign of the man himself. Leo considered the matter for a moment – it looked as if Jed had at least started to do as he had been told but for some reason had changed his mind. Maybe he’d been called away…but Leo couldn’t think of any matter of national importance that would have called Jed from this room that his chief of staff wouldn’t have known about at the same time – and Leo had been very clear on the fact that once Jed entered the Blue Bedroom on a Friday evening, *only* a matter of national importance should interrupt his recreation. Jed needed some time when he wouldn’t be disturbed and he knew how Leo felt on that subject. In fact, Leo was fairly sure that Jed was relieved that his lover took such a firm stance on the matter.

So – where the hell had Jed gone? Leo glanced furiously around the room, looking for more clues.

“Damn…when I get my hands on him…” He muttered to himself, and then stopped short, and laughed at himself. Jed was playing a game with him, and he was reacting as if his authority had genuinely been challenged by his lover’s behaviour. It hadn’t of course. This was all part of the dance, and if Jed was being this antsy then it meant that his lover was trying to tell him something. It was down to Leo to figure out *what* exactly – and he doubted if Jed even knew himself, but this extremely flagrant act of disobedience had clearly been designed to signal something to Leo – as clearly as if Jed had just gotten out a big red flag and waved it around.

Leo sat down on the bed and gave the matter some thought for a few minutes. Jed might not be here, but it was virtually impossible to lose the president so it wouldn’t take long to track him down – in fact Leo doubted that he was far away. He enjoyed their Friday night sessions far too much to want to delay the start of this one by too long. The question was how to deal with this when he had found his errant lover? Doing something this obvious seemed calculated to achieve only one thing: to heartily piss off Leo. Jed had deliberately set out to provoke Leo into some kind of reaction – the question was, why, and what kind of reaction was he hoping for?

Leo pushed that question to the back of his mind and concentrated instead on retrieving the missing president. It took him only 3 seconds to figure out that there was only one place Jed would go in the circumstances; Leo took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Josh’s extension.

“Leo? Is that you?” Josh whispered a split second later, as if he had been sitting by the phone waiting for the call. “Please say it’s you,” Josh added in a heartfelt tone.

“It’s me,” Leo said dryly. “Can I take it that the president is in your office then?”

“Yes.” Josh sounded utterly miserable. “He’s giving me a lecture about the many different kinds of shrub you can find at Yosemite National Park. I think he’s trying to bore me to death, Leo.”

“I heard that, Josh.” Jed’s voice sounded in the background. “Is that Leo? What does he want?” Leo rolled his eyes in exasperation at Jed’s innocent tone. His friend knew exactly what he wanted.

“Uh, you I think,” Josh replied. Leo lay back on the bed and listened to his subs having a muffled conversation – he guessed that Josh was trying to cover the receiver with his hand but was too agitated to do it properly, with the result that Leo could hear every word being spoken. “I told you this was a bad idea, sir,” Josh hissed. “I told you that he’d be mad. You should get back there – as quickly as possible. Before something terrible happens,” he added in a doom-laden tone.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Josh. It’s only Leo. I’m not in any mortal danger,” Jed replied airily. Leo heard Josh give an audible gulp.

“If you don’t mind me saying so, sir, you really might be,” Josh replied.

“Nonsense. Here, hand me the phone.”

Leo sat up again.

“Leo, it’s me,” Jed began. “Josh is over-dramatizing. There’s no need to…”

“Get your ass up here. Now. You have two minutes,” Leo ground out from between gritted teeth, and then he threw the phone onto the nightstand with a satisfying clunk.

Jed might have been displaying a great deal of bravado in front of Josh but it didn’t escape Leo’s notice that he returned to the Blue Bedroom precisely one minute and 57 seconds later, and he was slightly out of breath so he’d obviously taken the stairs two at a time and presidential dignity be damned. Jed stood in the doorway, his expression a curious mixture of insouciance combined with apprehension – there was no way he didn’t know that he was in Very Big Trouble indeed.

“Inside.” Leo held the door wide open and ushered his disobedient sub into the room, closing the door firmly behind them. Jed stood in the centre of the room, still fidgeting, as he had been all day.

“You’re angry. I can tell,” he said with a charming grin. Leo didn’t reply. He went, instead, to sit in the armchair, from which vantage point he studied his sub with a stern glower. Jed started to wilt, visibly, and his fidgeting went up a notch. Leo glared at him – Jed usually fidgeted at the beginning of their sessions, but not to this extent, and he’d been restless all day. What the hell was going on with him?

“I had no idea how long you were going to be!” Jed exclaimed, clearly unable to bear Leo’s scrutiny any longer. “There was no point in me just hanging around waiting for you so I thought I’d…”

“Stop it, Josiah,” Leo told him firmly. Jed’s eyes were sparkling a little too brightly and he looked flushed – what was *that* about, Leo wondered? He seemed almost out of control, as if he was being eaten up by some kind of internal energy that was making him act out like this. “I don’t want to hear any explanations. I gave you an order and I expected to see it obeyed.”

“I’m just trying to…” Jed began. Leo fixed him with his most severe glare and Jed dried up, the words fading into the air between them.

“You wanted to make me angry,” Leo said, getting up. Jed’s eyes flashed, and Leo noticed again how unnaturally bright they looked. Jed had very deep blue eyes, but now they looked almost aquamarine in hue.

“No. I…” Jed began.

“You wanted to make me angry and you succeeded,” Leo said. “Stand still, Josiah,” he ordered as Jed continued to fidget, his feet seemingly unable to stay in the same position for longer than a second.

“I can’t,” Jed replied sulkily.

“Then I’ll be happy to tie you.” Leo saw another flash in Jed’s eyes and thought maybe he was starting to understand: he did, very rarely, tie Jed but he was always uncomfortable doing so. He knew that Jed found it easier – it was much harder being asked to remain in position without restraints than it was to have your hands and possibly your legs tied so that you had no choice but to accept the spanking that was being delivered. However, Leo had his own reasons for not being entirely comfortable with using bondage on his friend: what they did in this room was entirely consensual and, when it got really intense as it often did, Leo comforted himself with the knowledge that if Jed didn’t like what was happening to him all he had to do was stand up, get dressed, and walk out of the room. The fact that he didn’t gave Leo the confidence to stand as firm as Jed liked him to stand, and to be as implacable as his friend needed him to be. If he took away Jed’s chance to walk out of the room by tying him Leo spent the entire session second guessing himself, worrying if he was doing the right thing or whether he was going too far. However, it looked tonight as if Jed was trying to push him into doing just that, and if being tied was what his friend needed, Leo was happy to oblige.

He put a hand on Jed’s back and the president jumped and moved away from him as if had been stung. Leo frowned – Jed often flinched during the build up to a spanking but on this occasion it was as if he didn’t want to be touched. Leo tried again with the same result and wondered whether to pursue the matter or let it pass. He decided on the latter course of action – Jed hadn’t been particularly forthcoming at any point over the past few days so there was no reason to expect him to start opening up now – Leo doubted his friend would tell him anything without it being spanked out of him at this point.

“Clothes off, Josiah – and quickly. I’m running out of patience,” Leo told him. That wasn’t exactly true – where Jed was concerned, Leo had vast reservoirs of patience, but Jed was pushing him like this for a reason, and he required a particular response from Leo. He might not know it, for Leo doubted that Jed was acting consciously about this, but he did.

Jed removed his clothes without saying another word. He kept casting anxious little glances in Leo’s direction, which Leo ignored. He busied himself instead by removing his own tie and belt and taking custody of Jed’s tie and belt. He laid them on the bed and then reached into his pocket and took out the key to the heavy trunk that sat at the foot of the bed. He opened the trunk and looked around among the many disciplinary implements lying within for the heavy black paddle. He rarely used this particular paddle, saving it for times when Jed needed a heavy-duty spanking, but today seemed to fit the bill in that respect. Leo placed the paddle on the bed beside the ties and belts and then shut the trunk once more. Jed finished removing his clothes and glanced over at the bed. His expression faltered when he set eyes on the paddle.

“That’s the nasty paddle, Leo,” he commented.

“Yes it is.” Leo nodded. “And anytime you want to start calling me ‘sir’, just go right ahead. You might find it’ll make me go easier on you – but I’m not making any promises right now.”

“It’s the paddle you said you’d only use in the most dire circumstances, Leo,” Jed pointed out, ignoring him.

“Yes it is. I think your behaviour this evening falls into that category, don’t you?” Leo said conversationally, slapping the paddle against his palm and pacing across the room.

“Not really, no. There was clearly no point in me hanging around in here if you were going to be awhile – I’m the president and my time is important for god’s sake, Leo! And I remembered there was something I wanted to talk to Josh about and…ow!” Jed jumped as Leo swung the paddle sharply against his ass as he passed by.

“The only pressing thing you had to talk to Josh about was the many different varieties of shrub to be found at Yosemite National Park,” Leo commented. “It’s lucky I called when I did – the poor boy was clearly wilting under the onslaught.”

“Leo!” Jed’s protested. Leo rarely made fun of Jed’s love of trivia. He viewed the president’s love of all things nerdy rather fondly, and could sit through entire lectures on subjects that nobody had any business being interested in if Jed was the one doing the talking. However, Leo was of the opinion that Jed had not won any such indulgences by his behaviour this evening, and he intended to make that very clear.

“Bend over the armchair please, Josiah, and let’s get started,” Leo said briskly. He tried to put his hand on Jed’s shoulder again, but his lover moved out of reach once more so Leo gave up. He placed the paddle on the seat of the chair, and then returned to the bed to retrieve the belts. He gazed at them in distaste for a moment and then turned back to his sub.

“Will you be able to stand still if I don’t tie you?” Leo asked, gazing at his friend intently. Jed made a face, and effectively answered the question by hopping from one foot to the other. Leo sighed. “Bend over, Josiah,” he said, pointing. Jed gazed at him for a long moment. “Unless you were considering another act of outright disobedience?” Leo asked. Jed looked as if he seriously was considering just that, and Leo sighed, audibly. “Josiah – I want you to cast your mind back over our Friday night sessions for the past couple of years. How many times did you argue with me about being spanked?”

Jed thought about it for a moment, his fingers scratching absently on the upholstered cover of the armchair, his feet still unable to be still. “I don’t know,” he said at last.

“I’d say, on average, nine times out of ten – wouldn’t you?” Leo suggested. Jed thought about this for a moment and then nodded. “And on how many of those occasions when you argued did you manage to talk me out of actually spanking you?” Leo asked.

Jed shuffled his feet again and glanced around the room as if looking for a means of escape. “I don’t know,” he said again, with a disinterested shrug.

“None,” Leo told him firmly. “You like numbers, Josiah. How probable would you say it is, in percentage terms, that you’ll get a spanking this evening?”

Much to his annoyance, Jed began humming loudly and ostentatiously. Leo sighed inwardly – his sub was really making him work hard this evening. “How likely, Josiah?” He pressed.

“I have no idea but I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” Jed replied with a nonchalant shrug.

“It’s 100% likely, Josiah. There is absolutely zero chance of you not being spanked this evening so you can either bend over now or you can keep arguing with me until I get really mad and spank you harder than I would have done otherwise. It’s entirely up to you.” Leo crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed his lover coolly, as if he had absolutely no interest in the outcome of Jed’s deliberations. Jed’s eyes darted from Leo to his feet and then back to Leo again as if to gauge just how angry Leo was with him, and then, with exaggeratedly slow movements, he capitulated and bent himself over the back of the armchair – but not before Leo saw the look of relief in his eyes. What was *that* about? Jed usually looked relieved after a spanking but not before one. Leo was feeling increasingly confused by his lover’s behaviour. Something wasn’t quite right – he just couldn’t put his finger on *what*.

Leo spent a minute or so fastening his lover’s wrists to the arms of the chair with the belts. This chair was ideal for spanking purposes, having a nicely padded back, and two wooden arms around which a belt could easily be fastened to keep Jed’s wrists in position. Jed didn’t say a word, but Leo noticed that he was breathing heavily. He put his hand on the small of Jed’s back to calm his lover but Jed jumped again, and Leo removed his hand – clearly Jed was in no mood to be fondled right now, but again, this set off alarm bells in Leo’s head. Jed often liked to be gentled during one of their sessions. He might argue about being spanked, but he enjoyed Leo’s little touches and kisses in the prelude to the main event – and even during it. Why was he drawing away now? And why was he still so restless? Even tied as he was, Jed still seemed unable to keep his feet still.

“I can tie your ankles,” Leo warned, pointing at the two ties on the bed. Jed shrugged, as if it really had nothing to do with him and Leo considered the matter for a moment. He didn’t want to tie Jed any more than he was already tied. He did occasionally strap Jed right down so that he couldn’t move at all, but usually there were good reasons for that and it was something they had both agreed was necessary. With Jed in his current mood, Leo didn’t think he’d get anything very coherent from his lover on that subject so he decided against tying him down any more than this.

Leo picked up the paddle, took a step back, and swung the implement lightly against Jed’s buttocks. His friend jumped again, but seemed calmer now the spanking had actually started. His feet still moved around a bit, but the more Leo warmed him up with the paddle, the less restless he became. Leo was glad that the spanking was at least starting to have the desired effect, and he swung the paddle a little harder – he still wasn’t anywhere near delivering the long, hard spanking he thought Jed needed, but he intended to take his time over this warm up, and ensure that Jed was thoroughly prepared and in the right place mentally for the arduous spanking ahead of him.

As he worked, he suddenly became aware that Jed was breathing in hard gasps – harder than was necessary for the relatively light level of the taps that Leo was delivering. Jed’s feet might have stopped their restless movements, but now his friend’s body was swaying ever so slightly, as if Jed was having trouble staying upright. Leo stopped, startled, and then took a step sideways and gazed at his friend’s face. Jed’s eyes were closed and he looked as if he was gritting his teeth. His knuckles were white where he was holding onto the arms of the chair, as if he was clinging on for dear life. He was, quite clearly, sick.

“Jed?” Leo threw the paddle down, as that sudden realization hit him. He unbuckled his friend’s wrists from the chair, cursing as he worked at the hard leather to release Jed as quickly as he could.

“Leo?” Jed’s eyes flew open in surprise. “What’s going on?” He asked, looking confused, as if someone had woken him from a deep slumber.

“You tell me,” Leo said grimly, still working frantically on the belts. He managed to release them, and then caught the president as he swayed into his arms. Jed tried to cover the stumble, struggling to stand upright, but all he managed to do was sway more heavily against Leo’s body and Leo guessed that days of rigid self-control were finally taking their toll. Leo felt a wave of some huge, indescribable emotion sweep through him as he felt how hot Jed’s torso was against his own body – now he understood why his friend had been so eager to keep Leo from touching him too much. He managed to swing Jed onto the bed, and his friend lay there, looking up at him, those blue eyes of his still unnaturally bright – only now Leo could see that their brightness was caused by fever.

Leo went to the bathroom and brought back a full glass of water, which he pressed to Jed’s lips. His friend drank, greedily, and then lay back on the bed with a sigh.

“You’re ill,” Leo said, sitting on the bed beside him. Jed made a face.

“Not really ill…just a little tired,” he said.

“Its bad enough you lied to me in the first place – don’t compound it by continuing to lie,” Leo snapped. “God, Jed, of all the stupid things to do! Why the hell didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell Abbey? When I think of what…” He clenched his fists, trying *not* to think about how he had, a few moments ago, been preparing to give his friend a severe spanking. His lover’s expression changed and Josiah disappeared to be replaced by Jed – not even the president, just Jed.

“You hardly ever call me Jed so I guess I really must be in trouble now,” he muttered tiredly. “Makes me far more scared when you do that than when you’re being all ‘Mr. McGarry, sir’.”

“Good,” Leo growled, reaching out to lay a hand on the president’s forehead, which was starting to shine with sweat. “Oh damn it, Jed, you’re burning up here. Why the hell did you think you were well enough to go through this tonight? Why did you push me so hard when you knew…oh shit.” He grabbed Jed’s face in his hands and looked into his friend’s shining blue eyes. “You were trying to distract me, weren’t you? You thought if you made me angry enough that I wouldn’t notice? That was why you went down to see Josh – you thought I’d be so mad I wouldn’t look too closely at you, wouldn’t see what you wanted to keep hidden. Oh my god.” He gazed at Jed, willing it not to be the truth but he could tell by the way his friend’s gaze faltered and he dropped his eyes that he had pretty much hit the bulls-eye. “Why?” Leo whispered despairingly. Jed reached out a hand, and clung onto Leo’s wrist, as if he feared that Leo was so angry he might leave.

“I didn’t want to miss out on tonight. I thought it would help. I haven’t had an MS episode since we started having these Friday night sessions, Leo.” Jed moved his hand to caress the side of Leo’s face, desperately trying to defuse Leo’s anger. “They’ve helped keep me healthy – you know that. I feel like I’m glowing afterwards, feel so relaxed. I thought if I could just keep going long enough the week would be over and then I’d have some time alone with you and I’d feel better… no matter how lousy I was feeling, I’d feel better. I always feel better after being with you, Leo…not just the…” Jed gestured at the armchair, and the paddle beside it, “but this, us…having some time away from it all…”

“Jed, you have multiple sclerosis – what we do on a Friday night doesn’t change that and it doesn’t cure it,” Leo said roughly. “If it did, I’d damn well take out a patent on the treatment and make a fortune from it.”

“You already made a fortune,” Jed pointed out feebly. “You’re the wealthiest man I know.”

“You must take me for the stupidest man you know too,” Leo snapped back, drawing away from Jed’s insistent caress. Jed’s hand dropped down to his side like a stone and he gazed at Leo in mute dismay. “How long have you been feeling ill, Jed? The truth this time,” Leo asked.

“Since Monday.” Jed shrugged. “I thought maybe it would go away…”

“But it didn’t. It got worse, didn’t it? That’s why you’ve been in such a bad mood. That’s why you’ve been so restless as well, isn’t it? It must have been hard concentrating when you felt so ill. You must have wanted to crawl into bed but if you did that you’d have to admit that you aren’t superman, that the country can do without you for a few days, that you have any goddamn weaknesses at all!” Leo didn’t raise his voice, but he left Jed in no doubt whatsoever about his feelings on the matter. His friend made a face, and exhaled a deep sigh.

“Leo, I can’t *be* ill. Every time I have so much as a headache I can see way the staff look at me: maybe his MS is kicking in for real now, they’re thinking. Maybe he’s going to collapse again, right in front of us. The man is a liability – and not just that, it reminds them that I deceived them, and it reminds me that until the election I don’t have the nation’s approval to be here, being their president *and* having multiple sclerosis. Last time they voted me in they didn’t know I was ill. Next time they will, so until after the next election, until after they’ve voted me back in knowing about the MS, I can’t be ill. I just can’t,” he said, as if he could fend off his illness by force of personality alone, and Leo was in no doubt that if that were humanly possible, Jed would have the strength of character and determination to achieve just that.

“So you think you can avoid being ill by refusing to admit it?” Leo asked, exasperated. “Why don’t you run *that* medical theory by Abbey and I’m sure she’ll give you her expert opinion on it.”

“Don’t bring Abbey into it. I had to more or less avoid getting into bed with her for this past week so she wouldn’t guess,” Jed grumbled. “That woman has eyes like a hawk.”

“She was worried about you! She knew something was wrong but she didn’t know what,” Leo remonstrated. “We were all worried, Jed. I gave you the chance to talk about this yesterday – why couldn’t you have told me?”

Jed gave another sigh and shook his head. “I wanted tonight, Leo,” he whispered. “I knew it wouldn’t happen if you found out I was ill.”

“Ah.” Leo sat down on the bed beside his friend with a sigh. He remembered them having a similar conversation before, a few years previously, after Leo had first found out about his friend having MS. Jed had been unable to meet his eye then, and he had stumblingly admitted, with disarming honesty, that he had wanted to be president and wasn’t sure that Leo would have helped him get there if he knew the truth about his health. Now Jed was looking similarly abject, but Leo felt a wave of fury rise inside him all the same.

“Jed – let me tell you something. I wasn’t angry about the thing with Josh earlier. I don’t seriously ever get angry with you about anything we do in this room. You might think I do but I don’t.”

Jed’s eyes were cloudy with confusion. “You seem pretty pissed off at times,” he said, falteringly.

“I’m not. I’m enjoying myself – the same way you enjoy yourself. Sometimes you drive me insane with all your arguments, but most of the time it amuses me. But now – now I’m angry. Not angry in the kind of way that means I’ll spank your ass, but really angry. Incandescently furious. I could have hurt you – seriously hurt you this evening. You’re ill, and you’re in no condition to be tied up and whaled on. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel, Jed?” Leo swallowed down the lump in his throat – Jed’s eyes were brighter than ever, fever mixing with his heightened emotion to make them shine. “I feel like some kind of monster – I feel like a bully, and I’m scared to think what might have happened if I hadn’t noticed how ill you are.”

“Oh hell, Leo…I guess I wasn’t thinking of it from your point of view,” Jed sighed.

“What we do here is about trust, Jed,” Leo said softly. “You trust me not to go too far, not to really hurt you beyond what you need, and I trust you to be honest with me as much as you can, to tell me anything that I need to know – anything that affects the way I treat you in this room. If I can’t rely on you to be honest then I don’t know where we go from here. I really don’t.”

“Leo, please…” Jed looked as if Leo had just kicked him in the gut. “What are you saying? Are you saying that we can’t do Friday nights any more? Is that what you’re saying? Please, Leo, you can’t be serious about that. You can’t.”

“I don’t have an answer to that question just yet,” Leo sighed. Then he noticed that Jed was shaking and could have kicked himself for having this conversation right now when Jed was clearly in no shape to be talking at all – about anything. He got up and peeled back the bed covers, then wrapped Jed in them and held his friend. Jed’s teeth had started to chatter and his skin felt clammy. Leo held him against his own body, trying to warm him up, and finally his lover stopped shaking.

“I guess I beat those odds after all,” Jed muttered.

“Hmm?” Leo frowned.

“Those odds you quoted me about getting out of this room without taking a licking. Guess I beat ’em.” Jed might have been trying to make a joke but he didn’t look too happy about it all the same.

“Guess you did,” Leo murmured. “You always do like to win, Jed.”

“Not this time. Not like this,” Jed sighed. His eyes were more hazy and distant now, and Leo guessed that having finally let his defences down and given in to his illness, the disease was striking back with a vengeance.

“Don’t think about it now – just think about getting better,” Leo said, bestowing several kisses on his friend’s head. Leo was alarmed by how quickly Jed’s condition had deteriorated and he reached for his cell phone, which was lying on the nightstand by the bed where he had thrown it earlier. Jed grabbed his hand.

“Don’t go,” he whispered, gazing at Leo glassily, as if he was having trouble focusing on him.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Leo said, stroking Jed’s hair gently with his free hand, his heart aching at the thought that Jed really imagined there was the slightest possibility that he would walk out on him when he was in this condition. “I’m just calling Abbey,” he said soothingly. He knew Abbey went out on Friday evenings, often staying over with friends until Saturday afternoon. Leo put through an urgent call to her via her secretary and Abbey called him back a few minutes later. He briefly described what had happened, and she told him she was leaving straight away and would be home as soon as she could.

Leo wrapped Jed up in blankets and walked him slowly down the hallway back to his own bedroom, where he put him to bed. Jed gazed at him wearily. He was as limp as a rag doll, and Leo didn’t like the look of his fever. He knew extremes of temperature could make Jed’s condition worse, and it certainly looked as if he was in the grip of a serious MS episode.

“How are you feeling?” Leo asked, bringing Jed another glass of water and then sitting down beside him on the bed and gathering his friend in his arms, holding him quietly. Jed seemed less restless when Leo held him and his legs stopped churning around quite as frantically under the sheets.

“Okay. Just so damn tired. As if someone sucked all the energy out of me and it hurts – everything aches. Damn but I hate feeling this way.” Jed railed against his condition and Leo couldn’t help feeling for him. Of all the people to be struck down by this disease, why did Jed have to be one of them? He relied so much on his vibrant energy, both mental and physical – Leo had known Jed for most of his adult life and he couldn’t recall a time when his friend had succumbed to so much as a cold. All his life Jed had treated illness with contempt – and now this disease was doing the same thing to him.

“It’s okay,” Leo said softly. “Abbey will be here soon and she’ll be able to give you some kind of medication. It’ll be okay.” He nuzzled Jed’s hair with his lips, privately wondering if it *would* be okay – whether anything would ever be okay again. Jed’s breathing slowed when Leo caressed him and he seemed calmer, so Leo spent the next couple of hours stroking his lover’s arms and kissing his head, talking to him soothingly although he wasn’t sure about what – anything to distract Jed from the pain and exhaustion that were claiming him.

Abbey swept in a couple of hours later. She took one look at Jed and rushed over to him, shaking her head the entire time.

“I can’t believe you’ve been hiding this, jackass,” she scolded him.

“Yeah…Leo already gave me the whole lecture thing,” Jed groused as she got out her medical bag and stuck a thermometer in his mouth.

“Good. Don’t think for a moment that means I won’t too,” Abbey said. Leo smiled to himself and levered himself away from Jed, plumping up some pillows behind his friend to give him something to lean back on.

“I’ll leave you in Abbey’s capable hands,” he said to Jed, gazing at his lover over Abbey’s shoulder. Jed nodded at him, but there was an anxious look in his eyes. He knew that all wasn’t well between them, and even if now wasn’t the time to deal with it, Jed was clearly worrying about it all the same. “You’ll be fine,” Leo murmured. “I need to get back to the office. You’re going to be out of action for a few days and there are arrangements to be made.” He caught the look Abbey gave him as he walked towards the door, but ignored it. He just needed to get away, to have some time to himself, to come to terms with what had happened here this evening.

Leo escaped back into the West Wing and worked for several hours, making 2 brief phone calls to Abbey to check on Jed’s progress. She reported that the president was fine and she’d managed to get him settled and, if not feeling better, then at least comfortable, which Leo was relieved about. He’d hated seeing Jed looking so sick – he knew the realities of his friend’s illness, had read everything he could about it to the point of being word perfect on it, but still the reality of it hit him like a cold knife being thrust into his gut. Leo finished up all the work on his desk, and finally, when he couldn’t avoid it because there really wasn’t anything more he could do in the office, he went back to his hotel.

The hotel bar was still open, and it looked warm, inviting, and beckoning. It looked like exactly the place Leo wanted to be right now. Leo hesitated, struggling with himself. He had worked long and hard to fight his alcoholism, but right now he was sick of fighting – he wanted to give in. Leo found himself walking into the bar and buying a bottle of whisky to take up to his room; he always made it a rule never to get drunk in front of people – he always got drunk alone. Always had, back in the days when it was a nightly occurrence. How many years had he been on the wagon now? He didn’t want to count them because he didn’t want to think that he might be betraying himself, and Jed, and everyone else who had stood by him during those dark times.

“Jed betrayed you though,” a demonic little voice whispered in his ear. “Why should you worry about betraying him? He betrayed you. For years he didn’t tell you he had MS, and he deceived you again tonight.”

Leo reached the safety of his room and let himself in with trembling fingers. He threw the bottle of whisky onto the bed, went into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and allowed the cold water to wash over his hands. He splashed the water on his face, and looked at himself in the mirror but all he could see was Jed, tied to that damn chair. Leo went cold at the thought of what could have happened tonight and how much worse it could have been. If he hadn’t noticed…if he hadn’t seen the condition Jed was in…the condition Jed was hiding from him. Jed was good at hiding things. He’d hidden his MS for 7 years – from Leo, from the nation, from the entire world, and nobody had known. Yes, Jed was good at hiding – tonight hadn’t been Leo’s fault…and yet…and yet…he couldn’t help blaming himself all the same. Maybe he wasn’t as good at this as he had thought. He had always taken their Friday night sessions in his stride, always found it so easy to read Jed, to know what his friend needed, and tonight he’d got it badly wrong in a way that could have had serious repercussions.

Leo felt as if his confidence was shot to pieces but he knew one thing that would make it better. One thing that would stop him from having to think about it… Leo took a deep breath and returned to the bedroom. His hands were still shaking when he picked up the bottle of whisky and slowly undid the lid. The heavy weight of a bottle in his hands and the scent of the amber fluid within brought back all kinds of memories. It felt so good. It would help… He found a glass and was just about to pour himself a measure of the whisky when there was a knock at the door. Leo considered ignoring it, but somehow he had the feeling that whoever came knocking at the door in the middle of the night wasn’t the kind of person who would turn around and go quietly away when nobody answered. Slowly, reluctantly, he put the bottle and glass down on the table, and walked over to the door.

Continued in Chapter 2