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Rumors Jane Harper RATING: R for language and violence SYNOPSIS: Begins immediately after "Blood & Thunder"-in fact, it starts between the climax and the epilogue. This one's about playing telephone. ARCHIVE: Sure, just let me know where. DISCLAIMER: Sarah's mine; the rest of the characters herein belong to the Evil Genius and his minions. I'm just tossing them into a bag, shaking it up, and seeing what happens.
Sarah got as far as the lobby before she spotted the press, lying in wait for her or for the Vice President or for Leo, or all of the above. At first she froze, like a deer in the headlights, while cameras and microphones materialized from nowhere, and then she bolted back into the elevators and up to their room. Leo was sitting on the bed in his shorts watching CNN. She burst into tears as soon as the door closed behind her. He got up from the bed and came over to hug her, clasping her head to his chest and stroking her face. "Go ahead, Toots. Go ahead and cry." "I want to go home," she sobbed. "Tomorrow. It'll be ready tomorrow afternoon." She looked up at his face with glistening eyes. "Do you have to go back-- ??" He shook his head. "Nope. I'm not leaving you tonight." He bent down and kissed her softly. "I may be old, but I'm trainable." He helped her take off her coat, and she changed into a baggy T-shirt, then crawled into bed and under the covers. She lay snuggled up against him, half-asleep, as he read memos and watched the news, until the phone rang again and he held the receiver out to her. "Your sponsor," he said. She started to reach for it but he pulled it away, holding up an index finger to signal her to wait a second. "John?" she heard him say. "Listen, I can't say I'm happy about this-- but it's up to Sarah and if she can trust you, I guess I can try." He made an uncomfortable face, then he handed her back the receiver. She blew him a kiss. "Did I just see a pig fly by?" Hoynes asked when she answered. "A whole squadron of pigs, flying in formation." She winked at Leo. "Did you get to a meeting?" "I got as far as the lobby, the press is all over the place. You sure do make an impression when you swoop in at 3 am!" "Yeah, I heard about it from everybody here too. That's why I'm calling. I think you should work at home for a few days, until the news cycle runs its course. When people figure out we're not running off to the Bahamas for a hot weekend, they'll find somebody else to plague." "Do you want me to stay home tomorrow night?" "From the meeting? Yeah, you probably should. People will go from thinking it's a card game to thinking it's an orgy." "Ewwww!" she said, laughing. "I like you a lot, John, and I love this guy here, but I'm sorry, Bill Kowalski is just above and beyond the line of duty. That man is butt-ugly!" "Hey, all cats are grey in the dark." "That must be my problem; I like to keep the lights on." She looked up at Leo, who was making a scowling face that she didn't buy for a minute. "Did I need to know that?" Hoynes asked with a chuckle. "Hey, you nominated yourself to be my sponsor, did you play hooky the day they taught the thirteenth step? I'm going back to sleep. And thanks again for everything." She handed the phone back, and again he held it up to his ear. "John? Thank you for what you did last night. I owe you a big one. But if you even _think_ about thirteenth-stepping this woman, I'll have your guts for garters, Secret Service or no Secret Service." He laughed, then said, "I know. Good night, Mr. Vice-President," and put the phone back in the cradle. * * * * * He woke up when she screamed. It took him a minute to realize where he was and what was happening. She was crying and whimpering, and he rolled over and took her in his arms. "Shhhhh, Sarah. It's OK. I'm here. We're both all right. It's over." "I'm so sorry," she was repeating over and over. "I'm so sorry..." "You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm the one who should be--" "It was because of _me_. Joel wanted to hurt you because of me." "No, Joel wanted to hurt us both because he was sick and had stopped taking his meds." He rocked her gently back and forth. "But if not for me--" "If not for you, my life would be pretty bleak right now. And, as you said to me a few weeks ago, you don't have to feel guilty about having survived." He looked up at the clock; it was a little after four AM. Reaching up onto the nightstand for the phone, he punched in a number and waited for it to ring. He hit #1 to bypass the message, then recorded. "Hi. It's 0400, I need for you to staff my appointments out today. I'm not coming in. I'll be on my cell if Josh or the President or Chairman Fitzwallace need me, otherwise I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up the receiver, wrapped his arms once more firmly around Sarah, and went back to sleep. * * * * * The next afternoon the two of them went home. To Sarah's surprise, the living room had been completely redone; the quilted wall-hanging that had previously been in the front room of her apartment was hung over a new flowered sofa, with area rugs over freshly-polished hardwood floors. The walls were repainted and newly wainscoted in a cheerful yellow. And, the huge comfortable recliner that had also been in her apartment had been re-upholstered in forest green and sat next to Leo's favorite overstuffed leather chair. "Irish, this is beautiful!" "I showed the decorator your wall-hanging, and he did the rest," he shrugged. "But so fast!" "RHIP, Toots." "How long did you say you were in the service? Never mind." She winked at him. When they were sitting down to dinner, she asked, "Irish, would you do something for me? I feel a little funny asking." "If I can." "Will you go to shul with me this weekend?" "Will they let me in?" "Sure, they don't check your wee-wee at the door. And besides--" "Could we maybe not talk about that? It's still a little too soon..." He squirmed ever so slightly. "Sorry." "Any special reason you want me to go?" "Yeah. I need you there to hang onto. There's something I need to do. Not have to do, need to do." She hesitated. "I need to say Kaddish for Joel." "The prayer for the dead?" "Yeah. I'm the only family he has, and in his way he was very devout." "You can say that again. He invented the Procrustean jockstrap, especially for me." He grinned at her, then laughed when she got tea up her nose. "Seriously--" he went on, reaching for her hand, "if you want me there, I'll do my damnedest to clear the decks Saturday morning." "Thanks, Irish." * * * * * Saturday morning saw both of them sitting in services, Leo looking bewildered, Sarah serious under her rainbow prayer shawl. The prayer leader began: "In solemn testimony to that unbroken faith which links our generations one to another, those observing Yahrzeit and those who mourn please rise to declare our faith in God, to magnify and sanctify God's holy name. Sarah joined in. "Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mei rabba…"
THE END
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