We'd left Josh at the terminal. I never knew his father, but I knew he'd been one of Leo's oldest friends and had always felt faintly jealous that some Connecticut lawyer had a claim to him. And now one of Leo's oldest friends was dead and another was about to be -- don't say it Jed, not yet.

Tonight was the first night I'd even let myself think it. "I'm ready," I'd said. And he'd grinned that Leo McGarry grin that lights up whole rooms.

As we walked out of the terminal he whispered, "Don't shake hands with too many people, sir. We're late as it is."

'Sir?" I thought. Yeah, he called me "governor." But it was the same way he called Abbey "doctor." A friend's boast: Awwww, look what you two did.

But "sir" felt serious. "Sir" felt -- ready, I realized. He's ready for me to be president.

I stopped short in the middle of O'Hare.

"You're never going to call me 'Jed', again, are you?"

Leo quickly scanned the area around him. "Don't you think we could do this another -- "

"I'm serious." I poked my finger at him. "Call me 'Jed', right now."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Sir, a whole ballroom is waiting to hear your speech."

"Stop calling me 'sir'." My heart was racing suddenly, panicked. If Leo wasn't going to stay normal, who was?

"OK, that's enough." Leo said, losing his temper. He took my elbow and I could tell he was going to drag me out of the airport, if need be.

I looked around.

"Wait!" I said, gesturing toward a restroom. One of the guards did a check and gave the all-clear.

I dragged Leo with me into the restroom, leaving the guards outside.

I fixed him with a stare. "You won't even call me Jed now, will you?"

Leo rolled his eyes again. "Sir, I really don't think this is the kind of thing we have to decide -- "

"Jesus, Leo," I said. "We've known each other for *decades*."

I advanced toward him where he stood against the wall. "Come to that, Leo, we've *known* each other."

He blushed and looked to one side. "Sir, that was a really long time ago and --"

"Stop calling me 'sir'!" Infuriated, I reached for his chin to force him to meet my eyes. His own eyes were blazing with that damn McGarry defiance, that stubborn pride that never left him, even when he was face down in the gutter.

Before I could think about it, I covered his mouth with mine.

"Leo," I sighed. I drank him in, reveling in his long-forgotten taste, sucking at his tongue once his mouth finally parted with a sigh.

"Leo." He was kissing me back now, with an addict's desperation. I lifted one hand and stroked the backside of his ear.

He cried out. "My god, Jed."

I pulled back, keeping one hand against the side of his face.

"Now, I'm ready," I said.