Chapter 2

Leo set the scene carefully the following day. He called Jed and instructed him not to go anywhere later that afternoon, and then called Ron to clear a couple of points with him, before setting off bearing the re-wrapped cane which he also put in a large bag to conceal it. Instead of going to the President’s house, Leo went straight out to the barn where the motorbike was stowed. He removed the tarpaulin and then retrieved the cane from his bag, unwrapped it, and placed it on the motorbike. He glanced around the barn and rearranged a couple of things, and then left, closing the door behind him. He met Ron outside.

“Nobody goes in there,” he told the security agent. “And nobody follows us down here, Ron. I need a couple of hours alone with the President – and I *mean* alone. You can watch the place from the house or over by the paddock but nobody comes in and nobody gets close. I don’t care what happens or what you hear – *nobody* comes close until the President walks out of that barn. Understood?” He didn’t think they’d overhear anything – they’d be too far away and the barn door would be well and truly shut, but he wanted to be safe.

Ron nodded, his face thoughtful and serious. “Is this about what happened the other night – or is to do with the speech tomorrow?” He asked.

Leo gave a wry smile. “It’s kind of a combination of both, Ron,” he said and Ron nodded again.

“Well, you know best, Leo,” he said.

“Yeah.” Leo nodded and began walking back to the house.

“Don’t be too hard on him – but make sure he knows not to sneak off again,” Ron murmured as he went. Leo paused and glanced back, unsure if he’d heard the agent correctly. Ron would have made a good poker player he thought to himself – it was impossible to read his face correctly but Leo wouldn’t have been at all surprised to find that Ron knew exactly what was going to take place in the barn.

Leo walked back to the house and found Jed waiting for him on the porch. His old friend was smoking a cigarette – clearly not his first of the day either judging by the little pool of stubs on the floor around his chair. He got up when Leo approached and gazed at him sullenly.

“Do we have to do this, Leo?” He asked, in a tetchy tone of voice. “I need to run through the speech again and there’s no time for this.”

“We’ll make time,” Leo told him firmly. “And yes, we have to do this, sir.” He knew that this was precisely what Jed had been pushing to happen for the past few days, but he also knew that now it was imminent Jed wanted to be anywhere but here. That was Jed all over. “Come with me,” Leo ordered.

He watched as Jed strode down the steps, all jerky, edgy movements and sullen sighs. His friend was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a polo shirt and was clearly doing the full James Dean impersonation again. Leo wished that Jed’s mood would stay where he’d last left it sometimes. Yesterday morning Jed had given Ron that charming apology and been conciliatory and regretful – today he’d clearly regressed a few days.

“Where are we going?” Jed asked testily as he fell into step beside Leo. “I really don’t see the need for all this cloak and dagger stuff, Leo. Why does it have to be such a big production number?”

“I thought it would appeal to your sense of drama, sir,” Leo said calmly, taking no notice of all Jed’s little complaints.

“Well it doesn’t,” Jed snapped.” It just puts my teeth on edge.”

“But your teeth would be on edge anyway, right?” Leo pointed out. Jed gave him a bitter little sideways look and Leo put a soothing hand on his friend’s shoulder as he guided him down the path towards the barn. Jed jumped as Leo’s hand made contact with him but Leo left his hand on his friend’s shoulder, keeping the touch firm and resolute. He knew that Jed needed to know that Leo was in charge right now and that Jed didn’t have any choice about what was going to happen.

“This feels suspiciously like the traditional trip to the woodshed,” Jed commented.

“It *is* a bit like that,” Leo agreed easily.

“It’s not a good thought, Leo!” Jed snapped. “There’s no reason to agree so cheerfully!”

“Hunker down, Josiah. You’re in enough trouble as it is,” Leo warned him in a low voice. Jed glared at him – but Leo took no notice whatsoever. He reached the barn, opened the door, and pushed Jed inside, still keeping a firm hand on his sub’s shoulder. He shut the door behind them and escorted Jed to the centre of the barn, and then waited while Jed got his bearings. Jed glanced around, clearly not entirely sure what he was looking for or what was going to happen, and then his eyes lit on the motorbike – and the cane that was perched on the saddle.

“Oh shit, Leo,” he hissed. “I don’t believe you! Where the hell did you get a thing like that out here?”

“I’m a man of many talents,” Leo said modestly. “Or at least Josh is. I told him to go buy it and he did. I didn’t ask too many questions as to where he got it from.”

“You told him about what happened the other night?” Jed asked, in an angry tone.

“Of course not,” Leo reprimanded sharply. “I told him to go buy a cane. He obviously figured out that you’re going to be on the receiving end but he doesn’t know why or any other detail and he sure as hell won’t hear it from *me*.”

Jed glared at him, obviously still wanting to stay angry about something in the face of what was about to all too imminently take place.

“I don’t like him knowing even that much,” he growled.

“I don’t care,” Leo replied firmly. “All this complaining is simply a distraction from the main event and you know it. Get your jeans and underwear off please and arrange yourself over that hay bale over there.” He pointed to the stack of hay that he had already covered in a blanket. This might be uncomfortable for Jed but he didn’t want to make it worse than it had to be.

“You’re really taking the whole woodshed thing way too far, Leo,” Jed groused. “I think you’re getting off on this. You’re on some kind of weird power trip. I mean a cane for god’s sake!” His eyes flickered over to the cane again and then back to Leo. Leo crossed his arms over his chest.

“Do as you’re told, Josiah, and do I need to remind you of the rules about how you address me?” Leo asked firmly.

“It isn’t Friday night, Leo,” Jed snapped. “The rules don’t apply.”

“Sure they do,” Leo said.

“Why?” Jed growled.

Leo shrugged. “Because I say so,” he replied with a sweet smile. “Pants DOWN, Josiah, and get into position, or after I’ve finished with the cane I’ll use my paddle as well.”

“You brought that damn paddle with you from Washington?” Jed asked incredulously.

“Sure. I knew I’d be out in the middle of nowhere with you. I thought the paddle might come in useful – I didn’t realize we’d need a cane too but she’s a beauty so I’m pleased to add her to my collection.” He picked up the cane and handled it thoughtfully.

“It’s not a ‘she’, Leo,” Jed argued. “It’s an inanimate object. It’s an ‘it’.”

“Yup – in the same way as this bike is an ‘it’ and not a ‘she’, Josiah,” Leo replied, tapping the motorbike.

“The bike is an entirely different thing! You can’t even compare the two!” Jed protested noisily. “The bike is definitely a ‘she’.”

“I’m standing here thinking you still aren’t over that hay bale minus your pants,” Leo commented smoothly.

“Leo, I don’t like the look of that cane,” Jed said warily, still prevaricating. “Hell, Leo, this is all because I told you that thing about my father isn’t it? If I’d known you were going to do *this* as a result “You didn’t drive the bike out of the front entrance though – there are guards all around,” Leo pointed out./pI wouldn’t have told you. I’ll know better than to tell you anything in future. I’m not going to say a word to you from now on in case it gives you ideas. You’re clearly not to be trusted. I’m going to know in fut…”

Leo swiped the cane through the air, cutting through Jed’s tirade with an elegant swish. Jed stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes radiating both panic and uncertainty.

“I’m waiting,” Leo told him firmly.

“It’s a cane, Leo,” Jed muttered miserably. “I don’t…” He trailed off with a look of abject misery that would, under other circumstances, have melted Leo’s heart. “Please,” he whispered softly.

“There’s only one way this ends, Josiah. Over the hay bale please,” Leo said, standing steadfast because Jed needed that from him right now. Jed gave him one more mournful look and then his hands went to his jeans. He undid them, and stepped out of them unsteadily.

“Couldn’t you use the paddle, Leo?” Jed asked softly. “The cane scares me.”

Good, Leo thought to himself, swishing it through the air again. He needed Jed to be scared of the cane if this was going to work.

“I’m still waiting,” Leo said.

“What about the speech…?” Jed said hoarsely. “Leo – sir – you don’t understand…I have to give the speech tomorrow. I can’t…you don’t know what it feels like…that time I told you about…I didn’t sit down for days afterwards. I couldn’t even walk properly.”

Leo felt his gut clench at that news. He hated what Mr. Bartlet had done to his son and the manner in which he’d done it. If Jed came to him tomorrow and told him he didn’t need to be spanked ever again, Leo would happily give up the entire discipline element of their relationship without missing it in the slightest, but he knew that wouldn’t happen. He knew Jed needed this kind of catharsis – it wasn’t possible to undo the part of Jed’s psyche that craved this – and all he could do was provide it in a completely different way to how his father had gone about it and hopefully heal a few old wounds in the process.

“Josiah, you premeditatedly devised a plan to deceive your security detail. You snuck out on this ancient piece of metal when you hadn’t driven a motorbike for years, and you caused everyone, including myself, a lot of worry.”

“I know.” Jed shook his head and scuffed his feet on the floor. “I know that, sir.”

“You will be punished,” Leo said softly but firmly, “but not for any of those reasons.”

Jed’s head jerked up sharply. “Why then?” He asked in a hoarse tone.

Leo went up very close to his friend, invading his personal space, and looked into Jed’s wide blue eyes. “Because you could have been killed,” he said quietly. “And *that* is unacceptable, my friend. It’s unacceptable because too many people love you and too many people need you – and I’m one of them.” He caressed the side of Jed’s face gently and then leaned in for a soft, sweet kiss. Jed clung to him and Leo could feel all the resistance leave his body.

“Leo…” he whispered when Leo released him.

“Go on. It’ll be okay,” Leo reassured him. Jed thought about it for a moment and then he turned, with a sigh, and walked over to the hay bale. He paused when he got there, removed his briefs, and bent over the bale.

Leo let him wait for a long time, giving his friend a chance to get used to the position he was in and prepare mentally for what was going to happen to him, before finally going over and taking up his own position. He rested the cane against Jed’s buttocks for an equally long time, until he could see Jed working himself up into a frenzy of anticipation, and then he tapped Jed lightly with the cane. Jed almost jumped out of his skin and it took him a moment to settle down again.

“Please, sir, just get on with it. I can’t bear the wait,” he said.

“We don’t begin properly until you’re warmed up, Josiah. You know that,” Leo reminded him gently. Jed nodded and swallowed hard, his knuckles turning white from where he was gripping the hay bale so tightly. Leo swung the cane again – tapping the President’s ass just hard enough to warm it. He continued doing this for several minutes, gradually building up into a tempo until Jed’s butt was glowing a rosy pink, and then, finally, he judged that Jed was ready.

“How many, Josiah?” He asked. Jed was silent for a moment and then he sighed.

“Twelve, sir,” he said.

“Very well. Count them please,” Leo ordered. He raised the cane and swung it forward – hard, but with nothing like full force. He’d practiced on the pillows in his hotel room and he thought he had gotten used to the feel and swing of the cane. It made a satisfying swishing sound and connected with Jed’s buttocks with a snapping noise. A split second later Jed gave a little gasp of pain. “That was an easy one to start with – it’s going to get much tougher,” Leo warned and Jed nodded and his hands grasped at the hay bale even more desperately. Leo had no intention of going much harder, but he needed Jed to think that he would. He paused, and tapped his friend’s bottom. “The count please,” he instructed.

“One, sir,” Jed said softly.

Leo raised the cane again and brought it down once more – with more bite this time. He figured that three strokes that meant business would be enough to fool Jed into believing that every single stroke was of the same intensity, when in reality most of them would be nothing more than sharply stinging. It would still *hurt* but Leo was damn sure that Jed would be able to walk out of here without any trouble at all. He might find sitting a bit uncomfortable for the next few days but Leo would have taken his own life rather than inflict the kind of pain on Jed that his father had. Having felt the way the cane swung and sliced through the air, he shuddered to think how much damage a thing this solid could do when applied with as much brute force as a man had in his shoulders.

“Two, sir,” Jed said, his voice sounding slightly choked. Leo examined his handiwork carefully – there was a faint red line across Jed’s buttocks but he suspected that would disappear relatively quickly. Judging that he was walking the tightrope between giving Jed what he needed and not going so far to inflict a real injury on him, Leo continued. He kept the next two strokes hard but after that he eased up considerably – although Jed clearly wasn’t aware of that as his hands clutched at the bale and his entire body was shaking. “Four,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. Leo upped the tempo from there on in – going faster but not nearly as hard, although he was pretty sure that Jed hadn’t realized he’d reigned back the force of the strokes as they fell so fast his friend barely had time to give the count before the next one fell. Jed was as uninhibited as ever during the caning – he growled and mewled to start with and then finally gave huge bellowing cries. Leo didn’t let up until all 12 strokes were delivered though, and then he put the cane down and helped Jed to stand. His friend turned and buried his face in Leo’s shirt, sobbing gently. Leo stroked his back comfortingly, and kissed his hair and face until Jed was calmer.

“I never let him see me cry,” Jed told him.

“I know. I know that,” Leo replied, smoothing Jed’s damp hair away from his eyes.

“I didn’t make a sound when he caned me – not even that time, when it was so bad. I gnawed on my knuckles rather than let him know he’d hurt me so bad,” Jed whispered.

“You don’t have to keep quiet any more. It’s safe to holler all you like now,” Leo told him, knowing that Jed already knew that.

“I’m so sorry, Leo.” Jed hung on tight and Leo just held him, rocking him back and forth gently.

“What are you sorry for, Josiah?” He asked softly.

“For not telling the staff about my MS sooner. For getting us all into this mess,” Jed sighed.

“It’s not me you should be telling,” Leo said. “You already apologized to me a long time ago and I punished you for the deception back then. I’ve had a long time to get used to the idea. The staff hasn’t.”

“And I haven’t apologized to them – right? Isn’t that what you’re saying?” Jed sighed.

“Yeah.” Leo continued rocking him. Jed was a proud man and this was something he really didn’t want to do – and Leo wouldn’t make him in this instance. This was Jed’s call, but he thought that maybe his friend would feel better if he did.

“You think I should?” Jed asked.

“I think you’re the only one who knows the answer to that,” Leo said gently. Jed sighed, again and then looked up, nuzzling at Leo’s face, searching for his lips. Leo gave him the kiss he so badly needed and Jed melted into him, needing and craving the warmth, affection and comfort that he would only accept so completely after a spanking.

“Do you forgive me, Leo?” Jed asked when their lips parted.

“Always,” Leo told him firmly. “You’ve been punished, Josiah. The slate is clean.”

“Yeah.” Jed nuzzled into him happily, utterly relaxed in his arms. “Yeah,” he whispered.”My father never forgave me anything,” he murmured.

“I know. That’s why you’re never able to forgive yourself,” Leo told him. He suspected that was why Jed always needed to be spanked before he’d accept any kind of absolution. It was an absolution he had never got from his father, but Leo made sure that he gave it as an absolute condition of these sessions. It was the only way he could justify spanking Jed at all, however much his friend wanted and needed to be spanked.

“The last few weeks…” Jed began.

“They’ve been tough on you,” Leo interrupted, drawing Jed down onto the blanket and holding him tight in his arms. “First with telling the staff, and then with Mrs. Landingham’s death, and the MS announcement and the re-election campaign and Bruno’s people…I know it’s been tough. I wish you could ask for my help sometimes before it gets this bad, but I guess you always did like to do things the hard way.” He grinned and kissed Jed again. Jed grinned back at him stupidly.

“Thank god you always have me figured out, Leo,” he said.

“Yeah – now d’you want me to make love to you?” Leo asked softly. Jed usually liked that after a spanking but he wasn’t sure on this occasion as it was so far outside the realm of their normal Friday night sessions.

“Here? In the barn? Sounds…kinda kinky,” Jed grinned.

“Because the caning wasn’t, right?” Leo quirked an eyebrow at him. Jed laughed out loud.

“No, that was kinky too! I can’t believe you made Josh go out and buy that damn thing!” He exclaimed. “Hell, Leo, yes I want you to make love to me. Abbey’s been giving me the cold shoulder for weeks and you and I haven’t taken a trip to the Blue Bedroom since god knows when, so yeah! I want some action!”

He reached for Leo’s shirt and began unbuttoning it. Leo let him – he leaned back on the hay bale and pulled Jed astride his body so that his friend was facing him, gazing at him the entire time. Leo wasn’t surprised Jed was so eager – his friend was an incredibly tactile man who needed regular displays of physical affection just as much as he needed, occasionally, to be spanked. Jed finished unbuttoning Leo’s shirt, smoothed it away from his shoulders and lowered his head to flick his tongue at Leo’s nipples. Leo put his hands on Jed’s buttocks and rested them there, enjoying the feeling of heat coming off them. Jed squirmed, but his cock was now fully erect so Leo guessed he was enjoying the sensation even if it hurt a little too.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” Leo asked. “Not too sore?”

“No…in fact…” Jed glanced over his shoulder at his glowing, slightly striped buttocks. “That’s not anywhere near as bad as I was expecting, Leo!” He exclaimed after he’d examined the damage.

“I’m extremely skilled,” Leo replied with a grin.

“But that cane’s vicious!” Jed frowned, gazing at the item in question with a puzzled expression on his face. “It should have left more of a mark than that.”

“Maybe you just have a very tough hide,” Leo said, pulling Jed back and distracting him with a series of heart-melting kisses. He had no intention of explaining his caning strategy to his friend – it wouldn’t be such a good idea for Jed to know all his toppy secrets. Leo took lube and a condom out of his pocket, and, pulling Jed closer, he inserted a lubed finger in Jed’s ass, while at the same time plundering his friend’s mouth in earnest. “Think you can ride me?” Leo asked when they parted. Jed looked down on him thoughtfully. “It’d be something new,” Leo said. “Might go easier on your ass – you can decide the pace – although I’m still gonna be in charge.” He gave a quirky grin which Jed returned. Jed liked for him to be in charge during these sessions and Leo enjoyed it too much to want to relinquish control in any case.

Jed nodded eagerly, and Leo put a condom on his ready cock, and gently parted Jed’s buttocks. Jed slid down on his hard cock, his hands resting on Leo’s body, his legs astride Leo’s hips. Leo loved watching Jed during love making and he was transfixed by the sight of his friend, his head slung back, his lips slightly parted, going down on him like this. It excited him and he grabbed Jed’s hips and thrust up into him, making Jed moan. He took Jed’s cock in his hand and pumped it in time to Jed’s movements on his own cock, until they came, almost in unison, several minutes later. Jed sat there for a moment, still impaled on Leo’s cock, sweat dripping off his face, looking utterly sated and at peace for the first time in several weeks. Leo grinned up at him and Jed grinned down, lazily, and then lowered his head to kiss his lover firmly on the lips. They sat like that for a long time, Jed still astride Leo’s body, Leo’s hands resting comfortably on Jed’s ass.

“Well this is one roll in the hay I don’t think I’ll ever forget,” Jed murmured at long last, breaking the mood. Leo laughed out loud and Jed got up with a groan. Leo sighed – missing the warmth and closeness of Jed’s body. He rearranged his clothing, watching as Jed dressed, then packed up the cane in the bag while Jed picked up the discarded tarpaulin. He gazed at the bike with a long, regretful sigh.

“She’ll still be here in 4 years time,” Leo told him calmly.

“Yeah.” Jed nodded. “I’m going to win this election, Leo,” he said firmly.

“I know. I’m going to be right there with you,” Leo replied. Jed nodded, and Leo helped him cover the bike in the tarpaulin once more. They walked towards the barn door and Jed stopped Leo when they got there, and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Leo,” he said softly.

“Mmm?” Leo glanced at his friend. Jed had a smile on his face that stretched from ear to ear.

“I’m ready, Leo,” Jed told him. Now it was Leo’s turn to smile. He could remember the last time Jed had said those words to him, back during his first election campaign. It had marked a turning point for them all, and had led directly to Jed’s victory. Leo didn’t need to do anything but smile by way of reply. He opened the door for Jed and they walked out of the barn and back to the house together, and this time it was Jed’s turn to put his hand on Leo’s shoulder as they walked.

“I need to make a couple of calls,” Leo told his friend when they arrived back at the house. “Why don’t you go take a shower and get ready for this evening and then we can go through the speech together.”

Jed gave him a grateful smile and scooted off upstairs, looking remarkably happy for a man who’d just had his ass thoroughly caned. Leo wandered into the kitchen – the comment about the calls had just been an excuse to get Jed out of the way while he had a quiet word with Abbey. Leo didn’t like to interfere in the relationship between the President and the First Lady but this current estrangement had gone on long enough. He knew they both loved each other very much – but they were two of the most stubborn, mercurial people he’d ever met so their relationship had never exactly been a placid one. He found Abbey slamming doors noisily in the kitchen as she bottled some cider. She was dressed, like Jed, in jeans, with a loose shirt over the top. The entire Bartlet family seemed to have this whole country living thing down really well, Leo thought admiringly, at the same time thanking god that he got to spend most of his time in the city, where he belonged. Country farms were full of alien sights and smells – there were horses, and hay bales and snakes and old motorbikes lurking beneath tarpaulins. The country was definitely a scary place.

“Hey Abbey.” Leo pressed a little kiss on the First Lady’s cheek. He and Abbey got along extremely well – they had an understanding about Jed that worked for both of them and they were each secure in the knowledge that the other loved and cared for Jed and that gave them a lot in common.

“Leo.” Abbey replied sharply, bustling around the kitchen and clanging a lot of pots and pans around in the process. The First Lady had never exactly been a particularly domestic creature – Leo knew for a fact that Jed had always done most of the cooking in the family – but Abbey clearly needed to blow off some steam right now and this was her way of doing it. “Did you spank his ass?” She asked, glancing at Leo as she worked.

“Yeah.” Leo leaned against the kitchen table and gazed at her.

“Good!” She said, slamming down another pan. “When I heard that he’d snuck off like that…” She slammed the pans around some more.

“Abbey, there’s no way either you or I could punish him more than he punishes himself. You know that,” he told her softly. She stopped throwing pans around and stood there, her eyes bright with tears.

“He’s a jackass,” she said, in a choked tone.

“Yeah – but he’s our jackass right?” Leo said with a little smile. “He’s really sorry, Abbey – there’s just that damn stubborn pride of his getting in the way of him telling you so himself. Give him an opening and he will.”

“He knew I’d never agree to him going for a second term,” she said, turning to face Leo. “He knew it and that’s why he didn’t talk to me about it. He knew I’d talk him out of it.”

“He’s a good president, Abbey – no, he’s a *great* president,” Leo told her. “You know what it feels like to do something you’re great at and that you enjoy – and in the process also to do some good in the world. If someone told you that you couldn’t be a doctor any more…” He trailed off with a shrug. She gave a long sigh.

“Damn you, Leo for always being the voice of reason,” she said with a shaky laugh.

“I know. It’s annoying, isn’t it?” He grinned. She shook her head.

“If I hadn’t made him sleep in the spare bedroom he’d never have pulled that stupid stunt with the motorbike,” she sighed.

“Oh he was cooking up this storm way before that,” Leo told her. “Don’t beat yourself up about it – if it hadn’t been the motorbike thing it would have been something else. The past few weeks have been rough on all of us but it’s been worse for him. He doesn’t like to show it but it eats at him.”

“Yeah,” Abbey sighed. “So, what do you want me to do, Leo?”

“I want you to introduce him when he gives the speech tomorrow,” Leo told her.

“I thought you were going to do that?”

“I was – but CJ thought it might be a good idea if you did it and I agree. Will you do it, Abbey? It’d be nice if the country thought you were behind him in this.”

“It’d be nice if *I* thought I was behind him in this,” she groused.

“You are.” Leo smiled at her. “You always are. You know that.”

“Yeah.” She sighed again.

“But he doesn’t,” Leo pointed out.

“No.”

“So…” Leo shrugged. “Will you do it, Abbey?”

She gazed at him speculatively. “Did you spank him hard, Leo?” She asked. “Really hard?”

“Yeah.” Leo shrugged.

Abbey thought about it for a moment, as if considering whether her honour had been satisfied sufficiently by her husband’s spanking, and then, finally she gave a little grin.

“Well, if he’s been punished then I’m not about to go on punishing him, am I?” She said lightly. “Yes, I’ll do it, Leo.”

“Good.” Leo grinned at her, and walked over and gave her another little kiss on the cheek.

“Do I have time to get changed?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Sure. There’s a car waiting for you outside to take you to the school for a rehearsal whenever you’re ready.” He opened his bag and handed her a pad. Here’s a draft of what you might like to say – change it if you want and run it past CJ or Toby.”

“How did you know I’d agree?” Abbey asked him suspiciously, smoothing her hair back away from her face.

“I know everything.” Leo grinned at her.

“You know, sometimes, I really think you do,” she replied with a wry shake of her head, heading for the door with the pad in her hand.

Leo watched her go and then waited for the President to come back. Jed emerged ten minutes later, in chinos and a light sweater having lost the James Dean rebel look altogether. They worked on the speech together and Leo was relieved to find that Jed was much calmer than he had been – he’d lost that edgy feel and, although a little subdued, was clearly in a much more peaceful frame of mind. They worked for about an hour and then went up to the school where Jed took a look around and then put the finishing touches to the speech. Leo watched him carefully – he always liked to keep an eye on Jed after a spanking and his friend always needed to be close to him afterwards too so he stayed near Jed throughout the evening and only sent his friend home when he was satisfied that Jed was well on his way to being in the right mood to deliver his speech the next day.

It was late by the time Leo got back to the hotel and he sat down on his bed with a weary sigh. He went through a mental checklist of things he still needed to do, grateful to be able to cross Jed off that list. Josh still needed his attention though – he had noticed his Deputy had been looking increasingly stressed over the past few days and he wasn’t the only one who had also witnessed one of Josh’s Freudian slips of the tongue that showed the tobacco issue was still on his mind. Still, Leo thought as he got ready for bed, maybe that could wait until they got back to DC, which, thankfully, would be tomorrow, after the speech. Leo had had his fill of the country and all its dubious charms; whoever thought the country was more relaxing than the city needed his head examined Leo thought wryly to himself as he cleaned his teeth. He had dealt with one crisis after another since arriving out here and he was exhausted. He would be grateful to get back to the peace and quiet of city life. At that moment, a knock on the door broke through his reverie and he opened it to find CJ standing there, looking distant and strained.

“Leo – I really needed to talk to the President today,” she told him.

“He was busy,” Leo said with a shrug.

“Leo – it’s important. I need to talk to him,” she insisted. Leo looked at her steadily. He knew what this was about – CJ was going to offer to resign and if she’d spoken to the President before his session with Leo this afternoon Leo was pretty sure that Jed would have accepted her resignation as well. Jed placed a high premium on loyalty and it would have looked to him as if CJ was bailing out on him just when he needed her most. Leo knew that wasn’t the case – CJ thought she’d let the President down by her mistake in the briefing room a few weeks ago, and she didn’t want to be a liability either to him or the campaign. Before this afternoon, Leo would have done anything to prevent CJ having this conversation with Jed, but now he thought that the President would be able to handle it the right way. He knew CJ wasn’t going to be deflected until she’d done what she’d set out to do. He also knew that there was no way that Jed would allow her to walk away from them. In addition, Leo thought it would do the President good to be reminded that other people were having a hard time right now too – and that other people besides Presidents made mistakes.

“It’s too late to bother him now,” Leo told her. “But I know he’s going to run through the speech again tomorrow morning before leaving for the venue. Why don’t you go out to the farm first thing and speak to him?”

“Okay.” CJ nodded. “Thank you, Leo,” she said formally, and then she left. Leo shut the door behind her with a sigh. What she needed to hear had to come from the President or he’d have said it himself. Still, at least he could cross one more thing off his mental checklist. That left only Josh.

The entire hotel was buzzing early the next morning – there was an air of definite excitement in the Bartlet campaign. Leo was so busy making calls and organizing people that he almost forgot about Josh until he realized that he hadn’t seen his Deputy all morning. He called Donna over and asked her to go check on her boss. She returned a few minutes later with a troubled expression on her face and he drew her to one side to talk to her in private.

“Leo, he’s in a bad way,” she confided. “He isn’t even dressed or shaved or anything. I asked him what this was about and he slammed his fist into the wall and began shouting about screwing up that tobacco thing. He just can’t seem to forgive himself about it,” Donna told him.

“Okay,” Leo sighed, deciding that Josh had just moved up to the top of his mental checklist. “I’ll go and talk to him.”

Donna nodded. “I think you should. I tried but… I don’t know if he was really listening.”

“Oh, he’ll listen to me,” Leo said in a heartfelt tone. He walked upstairs to Josh’s room and, finding the door unlocked, pushed it open and stepped inside, closing the door and locking it behind him. He found his Deputy in the bathroom, naked save for a towel round his waist, water dripping from his hair onto his chest. He had showered, which seemed like a positive step at least, but now he was staring absently into the mirror, his razor in his hand, still unshaven.

“Joshua,” Leo said firmly, breaking into the younger man’s reverie. Josh swung around.

“Leo…I was just coming…I was just…going to shave.”

“Come with me, Joshua.” Leo took one step forward, and whipped the towel away from around Josh’s waist, then he grabbed his sub’s arm and propelled him bodily into the bedroom.

“Leo – I know I’m late but I was just getting ready!” Josh protested as Leo yanked him across the room towards the bed. Leo took no notice of him, and instead grabbed Josh’s hairbrush from the dresser, sat down on the bed, and swung Josh across his knee in one smooth, steady motion. “Leo!” Josh protested.

“We talked about this, Joshua and you said you weren’t going to do this. You said you’d put it behind you and moved on but instead you’ve been doing nothing but obsess about it all week,” Leo told him firmly. “Well I’ve had enough. Either you stop obsessing right now, or I’m going to spank your ass until you do. What’s it to be?”

Josh lay there, dumbstruck for a moment, and then rested his arms on the bed with a sigh. “I guess you’re going to have to spank me, sir, because I tried, I honestly did try to stop thinking about it, but I can’t.”

“Okay then.” Leo put one hand firmly on Josh’s back to hold him in place and then delivered a round of deliberately placed swats with his other hand to Josh’s smooth, white, still damp buttocks. Josh squirmed a little, but remained in position. Leo spanked him for a few minutes, and then picked up the hairbrush. The first swat from that made Josh jump and he gave a little squawk of surprise. “Talk to me, Joshua,” Leo ordered as he peppered his Deputy’s ass liberally with hard spanks from the hairbrush.

“Ow! It’s hard to…ow! When you’re doing that, ahh!!! Sir!” Josh replied.

“Then try harder,” Leo told him in a no-nonsense tone, not letting up for a second.

“Bruno said…if I hadn’t screwed up…I could have…oh shit…I could have brought over Pennsylvania, Michigan and Ohio. Three swing states, Leo, and I could have brought them over!” Josh wailed, the pain in his ass forgotten as he dwelled on the pain of having made such a monumental error in his work.

“Okay,” Leo said, keeping up the tempo, guessing that Josh was nowhere near done yet.

“It’s going to be a close election, Leo. Supposing he loses because of me? Because I screwed up over this?” Josh said, his long legs scissoring wildly as Leo increased the pace and force of the swats.

“You screwed up, Joshua – nobody is denying that but let me tell you one thing,” Leo said firmly, as he continued spanking. “Nobody either wins or loses this election on their own. If we win, it’ll be because we worked together as a team and we did a good job and if we lose it’ll be because we didn’t. D’you think *he’s* going to win this alone? Of course not. It isn’t all down to him and it isn’t all down to you, or me, or CJ or anyone else. You – are – not – in – this – alone – Joshua.” He punctuated each of those 7 words with an extremely hard swat and then put the hairbrush to one side, and stroked Josh’s now glowing bottom lovingly. Josh lay there, his body stretched out over Leo’s lap and on the bed like a feast.

“Now, Joshua, we don’t have time right now to finish this in the way I’d like,” he said in a gentler tone, soothing Josh’s body lovingly with smooth strokes of his hand. “However, both Josiah and I will make that up to you on Friday in the Blue Bedroom. Understood?”

Josh nodded, hazily. “He still wants to…I mean, he still wants me along on Friday nights – even after a screwed up over this?” He asked. Leo sighed, and picked up the hairbrush again. He delivered two more sharp swats to Josh’s ass making the young man cry out in surprise.

“Don’t make me angry, Joshua,” Leo told him. “Now, I want you to get up, get shaved, get dressed and get downstairs within 15 minutes or I’ll come up here again and give this hairbrush even more of a work out. Understood?” He helped Josh off his lap, and the young man knelt on the floor in front of him and wrapped his arms around Leo’s waist.

“Understood,” Josh said, burrowing his face into Leo’s chest. “Thank you, Leo,” he added in a heartfelt tone. Leo sighed and stoked Josh’s damp hair lovingly, before putting a finger under his sub’s chin and lifting his face to look at him.

“We should have done this several days ago when I first suggested it,” he said. “In future, be honest with yourself about what you need, Josh. It’s easier in the long run.”

“Yeah.” Josh gave a rueful sigh. “Yeah,” he said again. Leo nodded and then leaned forward and kissed the young man on the lips. Josh opened up sweetly, willingly, to let him in. Leo tore himself away a few seconds later, got up, and replaced the hairbrush on the dresser. “15 minutes,” he warned in a stern tone before striding out of the room and back down the stairs.

Josh appeared 12 minutes later looking immaculate in a light coloured suit, his unruly hair flattened into some degree of neatness by the same hairbrush that had ironed out his rump. He gave Leo a wry, heartfelt smile, and then they were plunged into the maelstrom that was the campaign’s opening speech.

Leo surveyed his staff with some pride as they waited in a classroom at the school for the President’s arrival a couple of hours later. Toby and Sam were still squabbling with Doug, but it had calmed down into more of a mild nitpicky thing than the full blown quarreling they had been doing recently. CJ had turned up looking as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders so Leo guessed that Jed had, as he had known he would, refused her resignation and told her how invaluable she was to the team. Josh was looking refreshed and at ease with himself, and, outside, Leo could hear the ringing tones of the First Lady as she gave the speech introducing her husband to the enormous crowd that was gathered out there.

At that moment the President breezed in, looking utterly pumped by the emotion of the day and the cheers from the crowd outside. He sent Bruno’s people out of the room, which Leo thought was a masterly move, emphasizing that his team were the people here, the people who had been with him all the way, and not the newcomers with whom they’d been arguing all week. Leo crossed his arms over his chest and waited to see what Jed had to say. The staff all stood there, anxious looks on their faces, and Leo knew that the speech Jed gave next would be even more important than the one he was about to give to the crowd outside. He wondered if Jed knew that. Jed perched himself cautiously on a desk, grunting slightly as he did so and his sore ass made contact with the hard wood. Leo kept his face utterly impassive although he noticed that Josh’s eyes flickered in sympathy with the President. Then Jed puffed himself up, and began to speak.

“Churchill and FDR – serious men using big words for a big purpose…” He began and then stopped and surveyed the worried faces gazing at him so hopefully. Leo knew that Jed wouldn’t blow this – he wouldn’t give the staff the speech he’d clearly planned, the impersonal one about Churchill and FDR. No, he’d give a far more intimate and heartfelt speech – a speech that he needed to give and that the staff needed to hear.

“It occurs to me that I never said that I’m sorry,” Jed told them and Leo felt a warm sensation in his gut. No matter what happened between them, this man never failed to do the right thing. Never had and never would as far as Leo was concerned. “I am,” Jed continued. “For the lawyers, for the press, for the mess for the fear. Bruno, Doug, Connie – these guys are good; they want to win – so do we. The only thing we want more is to be right. I wonder if you can’t be both. There’s a new book and we’re going to write it….”

Leo smiled to himself as Jed continued – the atmosphere in the room had become noticeably less tense, and Jed had his staff back in the palm of his hand again. It hadn’t taken much – they already adored their President; they had just wanted to hear those two words: “I’m sorry” and now they had, and the tension had started to slip away from their faces, leaving them smiling and happy.

Jed finished his little speech and now it was time to go outside and make his big speech to the crowd. Jed got up and then he turned and looked at Leo for a long moment. Leo gazed back at him, his face utterly impassive, only his eyes conveying how proud he was of his friend for what he had just done and what he was about to do. Jed gave him a little smile, and then he walked outside. The staff followed him, and Leo followed along behind them all, humming to himself contentedly. The crowd started to bellow and cheer as Jed took the stage from his wife and Leo watched benignly as Jed kissed Abbey soundly, and she kissed him back. It seemed that something had given there as well, and the Bartlet marriage was back on track – or at least it was well on its way to being so.

Leo stayed back and watched as all the characters who had played out their dramas over the past week took to the stage. He was proud of what he’d accomplished here. Everything had come together much better than it looked as if would when they’d first arrived a week ago.

He watched for a little while and then turned and walked back into the classroom – he’d listen to the rest of the speech from here. He sat down with a sigh and let Jed’s words wash over him. Jed – great big extrovert that he was – loved talking to a huge crowd; you could hear the verve and sheer joy in his voice – he belonged on the podium. Leo smiled to himself, feeling happy but incredibly tired.

Jed, Josh, CJ, Abbey, the staff – it hadn’t been easy, but somehow he’d managed to bring it all together and make it work the way it was supposed to – and now he was extremely glad that his work here was done, the election campaign had been successfully kicked off, and that this particular city boy was finally going to be heading home.

The End