Fic: Witness Protection, part 9/13
Title: Witness Protection, part 9/13
Fandom: Parks and Recreation
Characters/Ships: Ben/Leslie, Chris/Ann, Andy/April, Ben/Pawnee, ensemble
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~7,800
Summary: When corporate whistleblowers Ben Adams and Chris Robinson barely escape an attempt on their lives, they gladly accept the protection of the Federal Witness Protection program. What they don't count on is being sent to a city that feels more like something out of a movie or a sitcom than real life: Pawnee Indiana. An AU starting in "Master Plan."
Author's Notes: I’m officially raising the estimated number of chapters to 13, because this one only covered about half the territory I wanted to. And I hope I can find time to work on the next one soon, because it’s going to be a good one! Wish me luck. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
Chris hadn’t been this happy in months. His relationship with the lovely Ann Perkins was everything he’d hoped for and more-it was exactly what he needed to finally get over Kelsey (who he really shouldn’t be thinking about anymore). In the meantime, he wanted everyone around him to feel the same kind of happiness he felt right now. For Ben that might prove impossible-he’d never met someone as determined to be unhappy as Ben.
Andy, on the other hand, was eager for happiness. And he seemed so close.
Clearly April’s involvement with Eduardo was nothing but a ploy to hurt Andy, born of her own pain at Andy’s betrayal. But, in Chris’s opinion, Andy’s offense had been insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and he felt certain that with a little more effort on Andy’s part, April would soon be his once again. After nearly a month of persistent wooing, Andy was once again on speaking terms with April. Even better, now that he’d joined the Krav Maga class, Andy had begun to glow with health and vitality. Chris felt certain that with a little extra push, Andy would soon be back in April’s heart.
Just after the workday ended he sat Andy down in his office and pulled out a dry erase marker. “All right, friend. What we need to do now is focus on all the qualities that make you special, and that attracted April in the first place. So, let’s make a list. What are you best qualities?”
Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, and then perked up. “I’m nice.”
“Wonderful start!” Chris turned and wrote “Nice” on the white board. Andy certainly was nice. Like an energetic puppy. “Now, what else?”
“I’m in a band!” Andy pointed at Chris, grinning.
“Band.” Chris added the word to the list. That was probably what had attracted Ann to Andy several years ago. Chris had noticed that sensible women often lost their wits around men who were musically gifted. He’d tried taking up the guitar years ago, but didn’t have a good ear for it. However, he had plenty of other attractive qualities and talents to make up for his lack of musicality.
“What’s next?” Chris asked.
Andy, still smiling, shook his head. “That’s it.”
Oh boy. Chris already knew that helping Andy would be an uphill climb-but it was only now sinking in just how steep that climb would be. “Well,” he said, “everyone has to start somewhere. Nice and band are as good a place as any.”
“Sweet.” Andy slapped his hands together, looking positively elated.
Huh. He might not be happy for the long-term. But for tonight, at least, Chris’s pep talk seemed to have done the trick. Chris could literally not be any more delighted. At least, not until his next date with Ann.
***
“Okay, so, Ben, you can deliver the invitations to the Chamber of Commerce meeting to all the businesses who contributed to the 5K, since they already know you,” said Leslie, passing a list across the table. “And I’ll deliver the invitations to all the businesses who didn’t contribute to the 5K, because I know everyone in town.”
Ben sighed and took his list. For the past few days things with Leslie had been . . . interesting. She wasn’t avoiding him or giving him the cold shoulder anymore, so he supposed this must be an improvement of sorts. But being saddled with menial task after menial task and being shut out of the more critical budgeting tasks while Leslie treated him like a barely-competent acquaintance wasn’t exactly ideal. He knew Leslie was working long overtime hours to prep the budget projections and secure contracts with a carnival company, but every time he offered to take some of it off of her hands she came up with excuses to keep doing it all herself. One thing was clear-she didn’t trust him with this project.
By now Ben felt certain that Leslie’s attitude toward him had nothing to do with his rejection of her romantic overtures-or at least very little to do with it. He knew enough about her by now to know that she was a bigger person than that. Unfortunately, she wasn’t bold enough to come right out and tell him what the problem was. He wasn’t much better-he was afraid that if he confronted her he’d only make things worse.
There were a few bright spots in his otherwise lonely August. He still went target shooting once a week with Ron, and they’d gone to the gun shop together to pick out pistol for him. Andy had joined the Krav Maga class, and Ben had discovered that he actually preferred Andy as a sparring partner over Chris. Ben felt like he learned more and gained more strength and confidence taking on a larger partner-plus, Andy didn’t hold back out of fear of hurting someone, but Chris always did. Ben would rather wake up in the morning with a few sore bruises if it meant being better able to defend himself. Lastly, Chris spent three or four nights a week at Ann’s house, lately, and Ben enjoyed having the condo to himself. He could eat junk food and watch all the science fiction and fantasy movies and TV shows he wanted because there was no one around to complain about it.
After ending the meeting with Leslie and wrapping up his other business for the day, Ben picked up a sandwich at Ray’s and headed home with every intention of marathoning four or five episodes of Futurama. Instead, he found Andy and Eduardo in his living room playing Dave Matthews tunes on their guitars.
Ben raised his eyebrows. “Uh, hi?”
Andy grinned (his default expression). “Hey dude! We’re having a mega-super jam session. Wanna join in? I brought a bass.”
“I don’t play bass. Which you would know if you’d actually listened to my answer the twenty times you’ve asked me.” Ben narrowed his eyes and looked around the room. Throw pillows lay on the floor, open bags of chips sat on the counter back in the kitchen, and two beers sat on the coffee table-with no coasters. “Chris isn’t here, is he?”
“Nope. He’s out with Ann. And he said he probably wouldn’t be back until after his morning run.” Andy giggled. “I’ve never heard it called that before, but whatever.”
Ben was pretty sure Chris had meant “morning run” literally, but he didn’t feel like explaining that to Andy. Not when there were bigger questions to be answered. “So, if Chris isn’t here, why are you?”
“Burley’s cooking some sort of special dinner for his girlfriend and he told me I had to clear out until after ten tomorrow, so Chris said I could crash here on your couch, and then I found out that Eduardo here is a huge Dave Matthews fan and is pretty good with a guitar, so we decided to jam. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No. Why would I mind having you and April’s Venezuelan boyfriend jamming in my living room all night instead of letting me have a relaxing evening alone?” Ben said pointedly.
“Sweet!” Andy strummed a chord on his guitar. “You and Chris are the awesomest dudes ever.”
Clearly sarcasm didn’t work on Andy. Ben wondered, again, how he and April were ever a thing.
Ben went to his room to play games on his iPad instead, but got frustrated with the unceasing barrage of adequately performed Dave Matthews and decided to go for a walk. He made his way to Wamapokestone Park, a few blocks from his condo, and sat on a bench not far from the burbling fountain. He remembered coming here a month ago with Leslie as they scouted out potential routes for the 5K. She’d told him the history of the park, and a story about the fountain. Supposedly if you held your true love’s hand and threw a penny into the fountain, you’d be together forever. She’d made the whole thing sound so romantic-it had almost been enough to inspire Ben to take a chance. Things had been going so well, back then. He’d had friends and an interesting job and a fun, positive project to work on-and Leslie.
Now, he still had all those things. Except Leslie. And somehow that one loss made a world of difference.
He’d only briefly considered her as a serious romantic prospect. Under the circumstances that kind of relationship simply wouldn’t work. But her friendship had touched him in a way that nothing else had in a very long time. He wanted to be angry at her for shutting him out, but every time he talked to her, or looked at her, or even heard about something cool she’d just done (which was often), all he wanted was to find a way to apologize for whatever it was that he’d done to offend her and make things right.
Really, anger or apology were his only two options. And he’d been angry about one thing or another in his life for far too long.
He made his way back to the condo and found Andy and Eduardo taking a snack break. He went ahead and joined them for some chips and candy. When Eduardo stepped away to use the bathroom, Ben asked, “So, are you still trying to win over April?”
“Yep. I sure am,” replied Andy, tossing a Skittle into his mouth.
“Then why are you hanging out with her boyfriend?”
Andy shrugged. “I’m just trying to be as super nice as I can, and hoping for the best. At this point, what else can I do?”
“Huh.” Ben munched on a chip, pondering. Try to be as super nice as I can. What else can I do? Andy might be a little simple, but sometimes there could be wisdom in simplicity.
***
On the Monday before the big Chamber of Commerce meeting, Leslie heard a knock at her door and looked up from her computer in surprise to see Ben standing in her entryway. They didn’t have any meetings scheduled that day, and he hadn’t dropped by socially in a few weeks (thank goodness). So why was he here, now?
“Hey,” he said, smiling brightly. “I was delivering some of those meeting invitations this weekend, and when I was at Matt’s Marvelous Magic Shop, I saw this and thought of you.” He held out a long, narrow wrapped package.
Leslie’s jaw dropped. He got her a present? After weeks of treating him like a pariah? What?
She took the present warily. “I don’t-I’m not sure I should-”
“Just open the present, Leslie.” His expression hovered somewhere between frustration and pleading.
With tight lips she peeled back the corners of the vividly striped paper, and ripped it away from the box.
It was a collectible replica of Harry Potter’s wand.
Her heart did a little flip as she looked back up at Ben’s hopeful expression. “Matt says he doesn’t like carrying the Harry Potter products, because it’s not real magic-whatever that means-but he feels like he has to because the stuff sells like hotcakes. Anyway, I saw it, and I thought of you. I mean, you like Harry Potter, right?”
“Yes. I do.” Her heart did another little flip, and she had to remind herself that she still didn’t trust Ben.
He shrugged. “I just thought this could be a good luck charm, for the meeting this week. It can help you triumph in the Chamber of Commerce just like Harry’s wand helped him triumph in the Chamber of Secrets.”
“It was actually the Sword of Gryffindor that helped him triumph in the Chamber of Secrets,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Ben grimaced. “It’s just-it’s just a gesture. Okay? Just take the wand. Enjoy. Whatever.”
He looked genuinely hurt. Maybe she had been carrying this shunning thing a little too far. It had occurred to her several times over the past week that he might have had a very good reason to change his name. Still, he should have owned the story of his failure with Ice Town instead of pretending that it happened to a friend. And he should have told her that he wasn’t interested in dating her straight out, instead of making flimsy excuses. That would have been the mature, adult thing to do.
Just like making amends with him now would be the mature, adult thing to do.
“Thank you,” she said. “It’s very nice. I appreciate the thought.” It would actually look really great hung up beside the replica of Hermione’s wand that she already had on display in her home office.
“You’re welcome,” he said, the tension in his frame easing a little. “And if you need any more help on anything to get ready for your presentation to the Chamber on Friday, just let me know. I’d be glad to pitch in.”
Leslie nodded. She nibbled on her bottom lip and sucked in a breath as Ben turned to leave. Maybe she couldn’t trust Ben about his personal life, but he’d never been anything but professional and helpful at work. It was probably time to bite the bullet and let him do his job.
“Ben,” she said. He immediately turned back, his eyes lighting up. “I’ve actually been having a little trouble working out all the details on these budget projections. Maybe we could have a meeting about it later?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I think I have an opening at two. Would that work for you?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. See you then.” He shot her that little, hopeful smile she used to like so much as he walked away.
The meeting went well, and Ben managed to answer most of the questions she’d been having. He also managed to remind her why she’d liked him so much in the first place, before she discovered that he was a liar. She’d have to remember that liar thing on Wednesday during the follow-up meeting they’d scheduled, or she’d be very much in danger of liking him again in spite of everything.
On Tuesday Leslie noticed a lot of city employees had called in sick, but she wasn’t worried. She never got sick. It wouldn’t be a problem.
***
Chris was doing chin-ups in his office when Andy bounded in with a bigger-than-usual grin on his face. There must be some good news, and Chris couldn’t wait to hear it.
He dropped to the ground and clapped his hands together. “Andy! I’m so happy to see you.”
“And I’m happy to see you, too. Because you, sir, are a genius.”
Chris wasn’t sure he’d use the term “genius,” but sensei might be appropriate for the situation. “I take it you have positive news for me?”
Andy bounced up and down on his heels. “Yes! Band and nice totally worked. I was getting to be friends with Eduardo, and April didn’t like it so she totally dumped him, and he’s headed back to Venezuela. Which is, you know, too bad for him, ‘cause he’s actually a cool guy. But it totally rocks for me.”
“That is fantastic news,” said Chris, raising his hand to high five Andy. “I hope that you and April will soon rekindle your romantic fire.”
Andy chuckled. “Yeah. And, hey, how are things going with you and Ann? It seems like you two are getting pretty serious.”
Chris raised his eyebrows in surprise. He wouldn’t have expected Andy to notice anything about his relationship with Ann. “I don’t think I’d call it serious. We enjoy each other’s company, and I expect to continue to spend a fair amount of time together. We have fun.” Chris shrugged and shook his head. “That’s all there is to it.”
“Really?” Andy wore a skeptical expression. “Because Ann’s doing that thing she does when she gets serious with someone.”
Chris narrowed his eyes. “What thing?” He hadn’t sensed any degree of seriousness in Ann’s behavior, but Andy was in a better position to know.
“You know-that-that thing. She’s always dropping by to give you stuff and check in on you and hang out with you. That thing.”
Chris relaxed. “That’s just an example of her naturally considerate nature, Andy. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the level of seriousness in our relationship.”
“Okay. Whatever you say. You’re the smart one.” Andy still looked unconvinced. “Well, uh, I’ll see you around.”
After Andy left Chris returned to his chin-ups. He enjoyed his relationship with Ann very much, but he didn’t want her to get the idea that they were headed in a serious direction. He felt fairly certain that Ann was on the same page as him, but Andy had raised new doubts. Perhaps it would be best to have a frank conversation with Ann, just to make sure.
And with that his mind drifted back to mentally scheduling his new herbal supplement routine to maximize the benefits to his exercise schedule.
***
By mid-morning on Friday, the day of the crucial Chamber of Commerce meeting, it was unmistakably clear to Ben that Leslie had succumbed to the flu that seemed to have struck a third of the town. When he managed to get her to the hospital, Ann agreed. Leslie was feverish and dehydrated and needed to be admitted immediately.
Leslie didn’t take the news well. No matter how hard Ben tried to convince her that he could put on the presentation without her, she seemed convinced that he would somehow screw it up. She called at least once every hour all afternoon with tips, suggestions, or demands. She even offered to write him an introductory show tune. Ben’s ire mounted with every call.
He’d been there for her all week. He’d answered every question and solved every budget dilemma. The tension between them had been easing, and he’d been almost certain that things were on the mend. Unfortunately, all of Leslie’s micromanaging proved him wrong. She’d needed his budget expertise-that was all. But when push came to shove, she still didn’t trust him.
He gritted his teeth and reviewed his presentation one more time. Other than the necessary deception to maintain his cover identity, he hadn’t lied to her once. In fact, he’d given away more of his past than he probably should have. He’d shared more of himself with her during the first two months they’d known each other than he had with any other new friend that he’d made over the past ten years. It usually took him half a year or more to feel so free when talking to someone, and more often than not he never got there at all. He wasn’t the type to have lots of close friends-just a few at a time. And he’d thought Leslie was one of them. So what had he done to deserve this loss of faith? She still wouldn’t open up to him.
He was starting to wonder if this was all a lost cause. Maybe he should start treating this like nothing more than a temporary job-a way to pass the time until the really important stuff happened. Like Chris.
That thought still hung in the back of his mind when he arrived at the hotel meeting room to make sure all the set-up was done. About fifteen minutes later he heard an all-too-familiar voice call out, “Ben Wyatt!”
He turned to see a rather disheveled looking Leslie walking toward him with a manic smile on her face, asking if she could borrow some money for her cab fare-which she couldn’t read because, according to her, the meter had displayed Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Crap.
Ben led her to a quiet corner to sit down. The heat of her fever practically radiated off her body, and she was clearly delirious. What the hell was she doing here? Why hadn’t Ann stopped her?
He quickly dashed out to pay the cab, and returned thankfully to find Leslie still sitting where he’d left her. “Leslie, you really shouldn’t be here. I’ve got this presentation under control. I’ve led meetings like this dozens of times. You need to be in bed.”
“No. No. No bed. I’m fine.” Her eyes kept going in and out of focus-just one sign of how not fine she was. “Everyone is counting on me. I need to do this.”
Ben’s frustration finally spilled out. “You know, I find it a little insulting that you don’t trust me to handle this.”
She glared up at him. “Well, I’m sorry if I don’t trust liars, Benji Adams.” She drew out the sounds of his name in a sing-song tone.
Ben froze. Holy shit.
He crouched down beside her and hissed, “Don’t ever say that name in public again. Please.”
Leslie rolled her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. “Fine. Whatever.”
Ben grabbed her hand and squeezed a little, trying to jog her back into focus. “Where you did you hear that name?” If his cover was blown, this might be his last day in Pawnee. He had to know.
“Scrapbook. In my garage. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Mayor, I’ve got a speech to deliver.” She rose to her feet and spun to face the poster on the wall behind her, and announced herself as Leslie Monster of Nightline.
Ben fought to control the panic rising in his chest. If what she’d said about the scrapbook was true, and not just more of her delirious ramblings, then it had only been his foolish slip in talking about Ice Town and teen mayors that had led to this. He had no doubt that Leslie would have been the type of girl to save clippings about a teenage mayor in her scrapbook. As long as she hadn’t Googled him, his cover might still be safe. But not if she announced his name from the podium.
“Leslie,” he hissed, “you can’t give this presentation. You’re delirious.”
“You’re delirious!” she snapped back at him. “I’m giving this presentation. The fate of the whole world depends on it.”
Ben rubbed his face with his hands, feeling more desperate by the minute. “Look-you are not giving this presentation. I’ll carry you out of this hotel myself if I have to.”
Leslie’s scowl intensified. “You wouldn’t dare. And I’ll have you know that I’ve got my rape whistle in my purse, and I’m not afraid to use it.” With one last icy glare in his direction, she whirled on her heels and jogged down the center isle toward the front podium.
“God damn it,” Ben cursed under his breath, and speed-walked after her.
Leslie arrived at the front of the room just in time to talk to Tom, who’d walked in with a few old guys. Though Ben had been frustrated with Tom earlier for not helping out, all that was forgotten in the face of the looming disaster of Leslie’s presentation.
“Tom-Tom,” said Leslie, darting behind the man and gripping his shoulders.
“Hey! Don’t get my suit dirty,” said Tom.
Leslie pointed at Ben as he approached. “Tom, you have to stop him. Don’t let him kidnap me before I can save the president.”
Ben’s shoulders slumped. “I’m not kidnapping her, Tom.”
Tom nodded. “That’s a good call. She’s a fighter-you’d regret it almost immediately.”
“Look,” said Ben, “we can’t let her give this presentation. She’s delirious with the flu. She has no idea what he’s saying.”
“Don’t listen to him, Tom,” said Leslie from behind Tom, peering over his shoulder. “He just wants to infiltrate the staff and hand Hogwarts over to the Death Eaters.”
Tom’s mouth hung open for a moment, and then shook his head. “Yeah. She’s delirious.”
Ben took in a deep breath in relief, until Tom spoke again, “But I’m not gonna stop her.”
“What?” Ben could hardly believe his ears.
“Sorry.” Tom shrugged. “She’s my boss, and I have to share an office with her. If I stop her now she’ll be mad at me forever, and make my life a living hell. No-this girl is going on. So you’d better help her pull herself together.”
“Hah!” Leslie grinned. “I win.” She turned and wobbled her way up to the chairs beside the podium. “Come on, Tom. Introduce me, before Ben tries to sabotage me again.”
Ben hurried up to the stage and sat down beside Leslie as the attendees filled in the seats. There had to be over a hundred business owners there; far too many to risk Leslie trumpeting his real name to them. But he’d have to tread carefully-if he applied too much force, she’d probably react badly.
As Leslie straightened her blazer and pointedly ignored him, Ben made a quick mental inventory of his options. Reason with her? Not likely to succeed. Trick her into leaving? Not enough time. Pull the fire alarm? Might work . . . But there was one more thing he could try first.
Ben rested a hand on Leslie’s shoulder, leaned toward her, and spoke in a low, fervent tone. “Leslie-I don’t know what I did to make you angry at me, or-or to make you lose faith in me, but whatever it was, I’m sorry. Very, very sorry. And I want to do whatever I can to make it up to you, but we don’t have time for that right now. I promise that I’ll do whatever it takes as soon as we’re done here. But first, I have a huge favor that I need to ask you.”
Leslie turned her head to meet his gaze with something akin to comprehension in her eyes. At least she was trying to pay attention through her delirious haze. She nodded.
Ben took a deep breath. “Please-please-never mention the name Ben Adams again. To anyone. Not even Ann. And especially don’t say it to anyone here tonight. Please. It’s very important to me.”
Leslie pursed her lips, her forehead scrunched.
Ben held his breath. If this didn’t work it would take him about fifteen seconds to run across the room to the nearest fire alarm. But everyone would see him pull it, so that might backfire. Maybe he’d have to run for the one in the hall and hope Leslie didn’t make it to the podium first-
Leslie nodded. “Okay.”
Ben’s eyes went wide. “Okay?”
“Okay,” she repeated. She almost seemed to understand.
Ben let his hand fall from her shoulder, and waited, his heart in his throat, as Tom went to the podium to introduce her.
She wobbled slightly on her feet as she rose and walked to the podium.
He could still make that mad dash for the fire alarm if he had to. God, he hoped he didn’t have to.
Leslie flipped open her padfolio, and lifted her eyes to the audience. And then something magical happened.
***
Leslie rubbed her eyes and blinked at the sunlight hitting her face. She never slept in past dawn. What was going on? Was this even her bed?
She sat up with a start and looked around at the sterile, impersonal room. Hospital. She was still in the hospital. But what about the Chamber of Commerce meeting?
That’s when it all came flooding back-how she’d stolen her friends’ medicine, sneaked out of the hospital, made it to the hotel, fought with Ben, and gave the presentation. After that it dissolved into a blur.
Oh god. She’d given the presentation, and she couldn’t even remember it. She didn’t know if she’d screwed up or succeeded. She didn’t even know whether or not the Harvest Festival was still happening.
She scrambled for her phone on the bedside table to check her messages.
There was a voicemail from Tom: “Hey, I don’t know if you’ll remember anything that happened tonight, so I thought I’d let you know that you knocked it out of the park. I had business peeps tripping over each other trying to sign up for this party while I was escorting you out. Bottom line-the Harvest Fest is on fire, girl. See ya Monday.”
Leslie sighed in relief and sank back against her pillows. Thank god.
She let herself relax for two or three minutes before starting to think about all the to-do lists that she’d have to start tackling on Monday. Tom and Donna could help with a lot of it, and Ron and Jerry could probably keep the normal Parks functions going in the meantime while she refocused her efforts. And of course beautiful amazing nurse and friend Ann would volunteer some time and moral support. And Ben would help-
That thought brought her up cold.
Ben. They’d fought. Not just a Cold War style standoff. They’d fought for real.
She didn’t remember all the details, but she was pretty sure she’d thrown some harsh accusations his way and called him a liar to his face.
After all he’d done to help her all week, and the gift, and offering to do the presentation himself and working hard on it all day, she’d turned around and stomped all over him.
So, yes, he did lie about his personal life and history. Which was a jerk move. But he was still a valuable colleague, and one should never treat a valuable colleague like crap.
Even worse, she’d begun to think that maybe his lies weren’t as bad as she’d originally believed, and that she’d been overreacting for weeks and really owed him an apology.
Apology.
Crap. Ben had apologized to her, hadn’t he? The image of his rather desperate-looking face rose to the surface of her mind. He’d apologized, and pleaded with her not to tell anyone about his teen-mayor past, and had looked every bit as nakedly honest as he had that day in J.J.’s when he’d confessed about the shooting. She must have re-opened a deep wound with that one.
That brought on a fresh wave of guilt.
Why did he have to be so darn confusing? He wouldn’t let her hate him when she wanted to hate him, yet she could never completely like him, either, because he kept pretending to be open and straightforward when he was really hiding all kinds of secrets and how could she ever really like someone who couldn’t be honest about who he really was?
She had so much to worry about with the Harvest Festival, she really didn’t have time to spend lots of mental energy trying to figure out an enigma of a man (no matter how attractive that enigma might be).
To take her mind off of weird-enigma Ben, she called for a nurse and ordered some breakfast. But hospital breakfast turned out to be depressing and disgusting. (Why hadn’t Ann warned her about this?)
Just when she’d begun to consider sneaking out against her doctor’s advice (again) to get some decent food, there came a knock at her door.
Leslie gulped when she looked up to see Ben standing in the doorway, clutching some takeout containers.
Fortunately he looked just as nervous as she felt, which helped calm her stomach-and were those J.J.’s boxes?
“Hey,” she said, plastering on a smile to hide her nerves.
“Hey there,” he replied, coming in and slowly closing the door behind him. “I brought you some waffles.”
He walked forward and set the box on her meal tray, along with a container of extra whipped cream. Of course he had to go and be extra considerate right when she was on the verge of resolving to not think about him anymore.
“Thank you,” she said. God, the waffles smelled amazing.
“You’re welcome.” He shuffled back a few steps and looked at his feet. “Well-I’ll start with the good news. You said you needed eighty total businesses to participate.”
She raised her eyebrows, her heart speeding up. “Yeah?”
A faint hint of a smile danced at the corners of his mouth. “Well, we have one hundred and ten, and counting.”
Her whole body relaxed, releasing the pent-up tension of her morning worry-fest. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
“You were amazing last night,” Ben said, his smile growing a little. “When you came in I was really worried. But-uh-you pulled it off with flying colors. So-great work.” He nodded.
“Thank you. And thanks for all your help.” She took a breath, and steeled herself. “I know you put in a lot of work yesterday-and all week, really-and I don’t completely remember everything from last night, but I’m pretty sure I treated you like crap. And I’m sorry.”
He heaved a breath, his shoulders slumping. “Yeah. Well. Thanks. And-uh-maybe we should talk about whatever’s been going on between us lately. I want to make things right. But, uh, it can wait until you’re feeling better. You need your rest.”
Leslie shook her head. They had momentum now. No sense in wasting it. “I’ve already slept, like, three times as long as I usually sleep. I don’t need any more rest. Have a seat and let’s talk this out.” Better to get it over with so they could move on with their jobs and she could put all the Ben-confusion behind her.
“Okay.” He pulled a chair from the wall a little closer to her bed and sat down while asking, “So how long do you usually sleep?”
Leslie shrugged. “Oh, three or four hours. Why?”
Ben’s eyebrows shot up as he settled into his chair. “Wow.”
People always said stuff like that, but Leslie didn’t see the big deal. Anyway, on with business. “So,” she said, “I know things have been-icy-between us for the past few weeks. And that was mostly my fault. And I’m sorry. You’re a valuable member of my team, and I shouldn’t have treated you that way. I apologize.”
Ben rubbed his chin. “Uh. Okay. Well, I thought that for a while there I was more than just a member of your team. I thought we were friends. And I feel like I did something to screw that up, and I don’t know what it was. And I really hope it wasn’t-you know-turning you down. Because if it was, that seems a little petty.”
Leslie gritted her teeth together. So he wanted to get into this? Fine. She’d get into it. “It wasn’t. Because, yes, that would be petty. But you know what else would be petty? Telling someone you can’t date them because of an ethics rule when really it’s because you have feelings for Tonya from Indy. I don’t like being lied to.”
Ben scowled. “Tonya? What the hell are you talking about? I already told you that Tonya and I are just friends.”
“And Andy told me that you told him that you thought she was your soulmate but you were nervous about starting a relationship with her.” She couldn’t stop the harsh tone in her voice as the words burst out. She’d been stewing over this for so long, and talking about it reminded her how much it hurt.
“Andy? Andy told you that? And-and you believed him?” Ben’s forehead furrowed with a bunch of narrow grooves that Leslie was pretty sure meant he was angry.
“He said that Chris had told him about you and Tonya, and I figured that your roommate slash business partner slash best friend might be a pretty reliable source,” Leslie replied defensively.
“Oh god.” Ben hopped to his feet and started pacing, running a hand through his hair. After a moment he stopped and met Leslie eyes. “Okay-I have no idea why Chris told him that. And I intend to have words with Chris about it when I see him later.” Ben shook his hands in front of him in emphasis. “But I am not interested in Tonya. I never have been, and I never will be.”
Fine. So Andy had gotten his information wrong. Leslie really should have expected that. But there were still unanswered questions. “But you definitely talked to Andy about being interested in dating someone. If it wasn’t Tonya, who was it?”
Ben sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked at the ground. “It doesn’t matter who it was, because she doesn’t feel the same way about me. It’s a moot point.”
Leslie squeezed her lips together and felt a wobbling in her stomach that had nothing to do with how good those waffles smelled and everything to do with her sudden suspicion about exactly who Ben really might have been talking about with Andy, and how horribly she might have screwed things up. I can’t think about this now. What’s done is done. Like he said, it’s a moot point.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I took hearsay for truth, and overreacted to that hearsay. I’m the worst.”
Ben shook his head. “You’re not the worst. You’re just-passionate about things. Sometimes about the wrong things.”
“God. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” Ben nodded. He sank back into his chair and sighed. “So that’s really what you’ve been upset about for the past month?”
“At first, yes,” Leslie admitted. “I got it into my head that you were a liar, and I started wondering what else you might have been lying about. And then, after I proposed the Harvest Festival, you brought up the whole teen-mayor thing.”
“Ah. That. I was wondering where you’d stumbled across the name Ben Adams.” He looked up at her with intent eyes.
Ugh. Time to fess up. “I thought you looked familiar when you first came to town, and when you brought up the teen mayor and Ice Town, I finally put two and two together. I dug an old scrapbook out of my garage and there you were-or at least teenage you-staring up at me. I mean, that was you, wasn’t it?”
Ben looked down at his hands and nodded. “Yep. That was me.”
“I thought so.” She still felt pretty foolish for the Tonya accusations, but she might as well get all her foolishness done in one fell swoop. She popped open the container of whipped cream and scooped a finger full into her mouth to bolster her confidence. “Okay. Here’s the deal. I was mad at you for pretending like that story was about a friend instead of owning your own failure. I think it was a wimpy, cowardly thing to do. When I have failures, I don’t hide from them. I stare at one of my failures every time I visit Ann’s house. I failed to turn that lot into a park. And there’s a long-long-list of failures that came before that, and I’m sure there will be a long list that comes after. I won’t hide from any of it. And you shouldn’t hide from yours, either. You should own it, and learn from it, and grow from it, and get on with your life.” She took a deep breath. “That being said, I can’t imagine how horrible the people of your hometown must have been to you to make you feel like you had to run away and change your name in order to get a fresh start. And it was wrong of me to throw it in your face like that last night, and I’m sorry.”
Ben leaned back in his chair, but still didn’t meet her eyes. “Okay. Considering you were pretty delirious at the time, I think I can forgive you. And I see your point. I shouldn’t have pretended that my story was about a friend. I guess I just-I-I never thought I’d have any occasion to revisit that time in my life. I’ve put it behind me, and I never wanted to look back. But seeing you put yourself on the line like this for the Harvest Festival stirred up all those old memories, and I don’t want to see you get hurt the way I got hurt. But I should have been straightforward about it. I’m sorry for lying to you.”
Leslie studied his face-letting her eyes linger for the first time in a month. He still wouldn’t meet her gaze. What kind of horrible place was Partridge, Minnesota that the people there had damaged an idealistic young man to the point that he’d wanted to run away from it forever? “Hey,” she said, “it’s okay. What I did to you this past month-god-I was such a jerk. At this point you shouldn’t have to apologize to me ever, for anything. I don’t even know why you were so nice to me this week after the way I’ve treated you. If someone treated me that way, I’m not sure I’d ever forgive them. I don’t really deserve forgiveness. Or waffles. Yet here you are. With both. I don’t get it. Why haven’t you written me off as a complete jerk, yet?”
Ben finally looked up and held her gaze. “I haven’t written you off because I believe that you’re a genuinely good person. And when good people make mistakes, they deserve another chance.” His lips curled up, good humor brightening his eyes. “They especially deserve another chance when they apologize.”
Leslie smiled back at him. “Thanks. I’m still not sure I deserve another chance. Just thinking about how awful I was to you this past month makes me cringe. I owe you big time.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” Ben shook his head.
“Yes. I do.” Leslie closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, remembering all the ways she’d snubbed and shunned him over the past few weeks. All over a few simple misunderstandings. What had she been thinking? Had she been thinking of anything other than her own hurt feelings? “Look-I have it on pretty good authority that I can be a pretty awesome friend sometimes. And I owe you about a year of awesome-friend times to make up for the super crappy friend I was this past month. I personally guarantee that you will never be bored or lonely again for as long as you live in Pawnee.”
Ben was smiling again, but he shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Really. Starting now. Come share these waffles with me.”
Ben raised his eyebrows.
Leslie scooted over to make room on the bed, and patted the spot beside her. “Come on. Come share with me.”
“Okay.” Looking bemused, he rose and walked to the bed perching gingerly on the edge.
Leslie cracked open the box of waffles and pulled one out, then offered it to Ben. “Help yourself.”
He smiled and looked at her out of the corners of his eyes while ripping a section of waffle off for himself.
“And don’t forget the whipped cream,” she added, putting the container in between them and dipping a piece of her own waffle. Ben followed suit, and for a few minutes they were both occupied with munching down their waffles.
After licking the last of the whipped cream off of her fingers, Leslie worked up the courage to take on a sensitive subject one last time. “So-were they really horrible to you back in Partridge after the impeachment?”
Ben dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin, his eyes darted downward again. “Yeah. It was really crappy. There was lots of name calling. And shunning. I couldn’t get a job. People vandalized my car. They picked on my brother. I got rocks thrown at me a few times.”
Leslie’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god! What kind of people do that to a kid who just wanted to dream big?”
Ben sighed and shrugged. “I guess the people of Partridge aren’t as forgiving as the people of Pawnee.” He lifted his eyes to meet hers. “I know you love your town, but sometimes I don’t think you realize just how good you have it here. Pawnee is a really special place. I’m glad I ended up here.”
Leslie’s breath caught in her throat for a moment. How could he be so nice to her right now? He ought to still be mad at her. She was still mad at her. “I’m glad you’re here, too.”
The silence hung between them for a moment, weighing on her. Finally she cleared her throat. “So-was all that trouble in Partridge why you changed your name?”
She could practically see the walls coming back up in his eyes, and immediately regretted asking the question.
He nodded stiffly. “Yeah-well-a-a time came when I felt like I needed a fresh start and a new identity to protect me from my past. But there’ve been lots of times since then that I’ve regretted the choice to change my name and walk away from my history. I wish I could open up about it with people. But, uh, so much has happened to Ben Wyatt that I don’t think I could go back. I’m Ben Wyatt, now, for better or for worse.”
“Well,” said Leslie, smiling, “I never knew Ben Adams, but I’m sure he was a good kid, and deserved better than what Partridge gave him. But I do know Ben Wyatt. And he’s a good man. A really good one. And I’ve misjudged him for the last time. I promise.”
“Thanks,” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “That means a lot. Really.”
As he held her gaze, all the old attraction welled back up inside of her. She’d really screwed things up. Any chance they’d ever had at romance was probably dead by now. But they could still be friends-and she was determined to make up for lost time.
“Well, now that we’re friends again, we can appreciate Pawnee together,” she said. “Starting tomorrow night, when we appreciate J.J.’s diner together when I buy you dinner.”
“Leslie, you don’t-”
“No.” She cut him off. “I insist. I still owe you a ton of awesome-friend time, remember? I’m taking you to dinner. And that’s just the beginning. There’s plenty more friend-time where that came from.”
His smile relaxed again. “There’s no talking you out of this, is there?”
“Not a chance.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “In that case, I look forward to it.”
“Good,” said Leslie, fighting to quell the butterflies in her stomach. “Me too.”
A few minutes later, as Ben was leaving to let her rest, Leslie called after him, "Hey-I had the wand in my purse last night. I guess it really did work as a good luck charm. So thanks for that."
"Yeah. You're welcome." His parting smile was enough to leave her happy for the rest of the morning. Until lunch time.
Hospital food really sucked.
TBC
Part 10!
Fandom: Parks and Recreation
Characters/Ships: Ben/Leslie, Chris/Ann, Andy/April, Ben/Pawnee, ensemble
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~7,800
Summary: When corporate whistleblowers Ben Adams and Chris Robinson barely escape an attempt on their lives, they gladly accept the protection of the Federal Witness Protection program. What they don't count on is being sent to a city that feels more like something out of a movie or a sitcom than real life: Pawnee Indiana. An AU starting in "Master Plan."
Author's Notes: I’m officially raising the estimated number of chapters to 13, because this one only covered about half the territory I wanted to. And I hope I can find time to work on the next one soon, because it’s going to be a good one! Wish me luck. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
Chris hadn’t been this happy in months. His relationship with the lovely Ann Perkins was everything he’d hoped for and more-it was exactly what he needed to finally get over Kelsey (who he really shouldn’t be thinking about anymore). In the meantime, he wanted everyone around him to feel the same kind of happiness he felt right now. For Ben that might prove impossible-he’d never met someone as determined to be unhappy as Ben.
Andy, on the other hand, was eager for happiness. And he seemed so close.
Clearly April’s involvement with Eduardo was nothing but a ploy to hurt Andy, born of her own pain at Andy’s betrayal. But, in Chris’s opinion, Andy’s offense had been insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and he felt certain that with a little more effort on Andy’s part, April would soon be his once again. After nearly a month of persistent wooing, Andy was once again on speaking terms with April. Even better, now that he’d joined the Krav Maga class, Andy had begun to glow with health and vitality. Chris felt certain that with a little extra push, Andy would soon be back in April’s heart.
Just after the workday ended he sat Andy down in his office and pulled out a dry erase marker. “All right, friend. What we need to do now is focus on all the qualities that make you special, and that attracted April in the first place. So, let’s make a list. What are you best qualities?”
Andy looked thoughtful for a moment, and then perked up. “I’m nice.”
“Wonderful start!” Chris turned and wrote “Nice” on the white board. Andy certainly was nice. Like an energetic puppy. “Now, what else?”
“I’m in a band!” Andy pointed at Chris, grinning.
“Band.” Chris added the word to the list. That was probably what had attracted Ann to Andy several years ago. Chris had noticed that sensible women often lost their wits around men who were musically gifted. He’d tried taking up the guitar years ago, but didn’t have a good ear for it. However, he had plenty of other attractive qualities and talents to make up for his lack of musicality.
“What’s next?” Chris asked.
Andy, still smiling, shook his head. “That’s it.”
Oh boy. Chris already knew that helping Andy would be an uphill climb-but it was only now sinking in just how steep that climb would be. “Well,” he said, “everyone has to start somewhere. Nice and band are as good a place as any.”
“Sweet.” Andy slapped his hands together, looking positively elated.
Huh. He might not be happy for the long-term. But for tonight, at least, Chris’s pep talk seemed to have done the trick. Chris could literally not be any more delighted. At least, not until his next date with Ann.
***
“Okay, so, Ben, you can deliver the invitations to the Chamber of Commerce meeting to all the businesses who contributed to the 5K, since they already know you,” said Leslie, passing a list across the table. “And I’ll deliver the invitations to all the businesses who didn’t contribute to the 5K, because I know everyone in town.”
Ben sighed and took his list. For the past few days things with Leslie had been . . . interesting. She wasn’t avoiding him or giving him the cold shoulder anymore, so he supposed this must be an improvement of sorts. But being saddled with menial task after menial task and being shut out of the more critical budgeting tasks while Leslie treated him like a barely-competent acquaintance wasn’t exactly ideal. He knew Leslie was working long overtime hours to prep the budget projections and secure contracts with a carnival company, but every time he offered to take some of it off of her hands she came up with excuses to keep doing it all herself. One thing was clear-she didn’t trust him with this project.
By now Ben felt certain that Leslie’s attitude toward him had nothing to do with his rejection of her romantic overtures-or at least very little to do with it. He knew enough about her by now to know that she was a bigger person than that. Unfortunately, she wasn’t bold enough to come right out and tell him what the problem was. He wasn’t much better-he was afraid that if he confronted her he’d only make things worse.
There were a few bright spots in his otherwise lonely August. He still went target shooting once a week with Ron, and they’d gone to the gun shop together to pick out pistol for him. Andy had joined the Krav Maga class, and Ben had discovered that he actually preferred Andy as a sparring partner over Chris. Ben felt like he learned more and gained more strength and confidence taking on a larger partner-plus, Andy didn’t hold back out of fear of hurting someone, but Chris always did. Ben would rather wake up in the morning with a few sore bruises if it meant being better able to defend himself. Lastly, Chris spent three or four nights a week at Ann’s house, lately, and Ben enjoyed having the condo to himself. He could eat junk food and watch all the science fiction and fantasy movies and TV shows he wanted because there was no one around to complain about it.
After ending the meeting with Leslie and wrapping up his other business for the day, Ben picked up a sandwich at Ray’s and headed home with every intention of marathoning four or five episodes of Futurama. Instead, he found Andy and Eduardo in his living room playing Dave Matthews tunes on their guitars.
Ben raised his eyebrows. “Uh, hi?”
Andy grinned (his default expression). “Hey dude! We’re having a mega-super jam session. Wanna join in? I brought a bass.”
“I don’t play bass. Which you would know if you’d actually listened to my answer the twenty times you’ve asked me.” Ben narrowed his eyes and looked around the room. Throw pillows lay on the floor, open bags of chips sat on the counter back in the kitchen, and two beers sat on the coffee table-with no coasters. “Chris isn’t here, is he?”
“Nope. He’s out with Ann. And he said he probably wouldn’t be back until after his morning run.” Andy giggled. “I’ve never heard it called that before, but whatever.”
Ben was pretty sure Chris had meant “morning run” literally, but he didn’t feel like explaining that to Andy. Not when there were bigger questions to be answered. “So, if Chris isn’t here, why are you?”
“Burley’s cooking some sort of special dinner for his girlfriend and he told me I had to clear out until after ten tomorrow, so Chris said I could crash here on your couch, and then I found out that Eduardo here is a huge Dave Matthews fan and is pretty good with a guitar, so we decided to jam. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No. Why would I mind having you and April’s Venezuelan boyfriend jamming in my living room all night instead of letting me have a relaxing evening alone?” Ben said pointedly.
“Sweet!” Andy strummed a chord on his guitar. “You and Chris are the awesomest dudes ever.”
Clearly sarcasm didn’t work on Andy. Ben wondered, again, how he and April were ever a thing.
Ben went to his room to play games on his iPad instead, but got frustrated with the unceasing barrage of adequately performed Dave Matthews and decided to go for a walk. He made his way to Wamapokestone Park, a few blocks from his condo, and sat on a bench not far from the burbling fountain. He remembered coming here a month ago with Leslie as they scouted out potential routes for the 5K. She’d told him the history of the park, and a story about the fountain. Supposedly if you held your true love’s hand and threw a penny into the fountain, you’d be together forever. She’d made the whole thing sound so romantic-it had almost been enough to inspire Ben to take a chance. Things had been going so well, back then. He’d had friends and an interesting job and a fun, positive project to work on-and Leslie.
Now, he still had all those things. Except Leslie. And somehow that one loss made a world of difference.
He’d only briefly considered her as a serious romantic prospect. Under the circumstances that kind of relationship simply wouldn’t work. But her friendship had touched him in a way that nothing else had in a very long time. He wanted to be angry at her for shutting him out, but every time he talked to her, or looked at her, or even heard about something cool she’d just done (which was often), all he wanted was to find a way to apologize for whatever it was that he’d done to offend her and make things right.
Really, anger or apology were his only two options. And he’d been angry about one thing or another in his life for far too long.
He made his way back to the condo and found Andy and Eduardo taking a snack break. He went ahead and joined them for some chips and candy. When Eduardo stepped away to use the bathroom, Ben asked, “So, are you still trying to win over April?”
“Yep. I sure am,” replied Andy, tossing a Skittle into his mouth.
“Then why are you hanging out with her boyfriend?”
Andy shrugged. “I’m just trying to be as super nice as I can, and hoping for the best. At this point, what else can I do?”
“Huh.” Ben munched on a chip, pondering. Try to be as super nice as I can. What else can I do? Andy might be a little simple, but sometimes there could be wisdom in simplicity.
***
On the Monday before the big Chamber of Commerce meeting, Leslie heard a knock at her door and looked up from her computer in surprise to see Ben standing in her entryway. They didn’t have any meetings scheduled that day, and he hadn’t dropped by socially in a few weeks (thank goodness). So why was he here, now?
“Hey,” he said, smiling brightly. “I was delivering some of those meeting invitations this weekend, and when I was at Matt’s Marvelous Magic Shop, I saw this and thought of you.” He held out a long, narrow wrapped package.
Leslie’s jaw dropped. He got her a present? After weeks of treating him like a pariah? What?
She took the present warily. “I don’t-I’m not sure I should-”
“Just open the present, Leslie.” His expression hovered somewhere between frustration and pleading.
With tight lips she peeled back the corners of the vividly striped paper, and ripped it away from the box.
It was a collectible replica of Harry Potter’s wand.
Her heart did a little flip as she looked back up at Ben’s hopeful expression. “Matt says he doesn’t like carrying the Harry Potter products, because it’s not real magic-whatever that means-but he feels like he has to because the stuff sells like hotcakes. Anyway, I saw it, and I thought of you. I mean, you like Harry Potter, right?”
“Yes. I do.” Her heart did another little flip, and she had to remind herself that she still didn’t trust Ben.
He shrugged. “I just thought this could be a good luck charm, for the meeting this week. It can help you triumph in the Chamber of Commerce just like Harry’s wand helped him triumph in the Chamber of Secrets.”
“It was actually the Sword of Gryffindor that helped him triumph in the Chamber of Secrets,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Ben grimaced. “It’s just-it’s just a gesture. Okay? Just take the wand. Enjoy. Whatever.”
He looked genuinely hurt. Maybe she had been carrying this shunning thing a little too far. It had occurred to her several times over the past week that he might have had a very good reason to change his name. Still, he should have owned the story of his failure with Ice Town instead of pretending that it happened to a friend. And he should have told her that he wasn’t interested in dating her straight out, instead of making flimsy excuses. That would have been the mature, adult thing to do.
Just like making amends with him now would be the mature, adult thing to do.
“Thank you,” she said. “It’s very nice. I appreciate the thought.” It would actually look really great hung up beside the replica of Hermione’s wand that she already had on display in her home office.
“You’re welcome,” he said, the tension in his frame easing a little. “And if you need any more help on anything to get ready for your presentation to the Chamber on Friday, just let me know. I’d be glad to pitch in.”
Leslie nodded. She nibbled on her bottom lip and sucked in a breath as Ben turned to leave. Maybe she couldn’t trust Ben about his personal life, but he’d never been anything but professional and helpful at work. It was probably time to bite the bullet and let him do his job.
“Ben,” she said. He immediately turned back, his eyes lighting up. “I’ve actually been having a little trouble working out all the details on these budget projections. Maybe we could have a meeting about it later?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I think I have an opening at two. Would that work for you?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. See you then.” He shot her that little, hopeful smile she used to like so much as he walked away.
The meeting went well, and Ben managed to answer most of the questions she’d been having. He also managed to remind her why she’d liked him so much in the first place, before she discovered that he was a liar. She’d have to remember that liar thing on Wednesday during the follow-up meeting they’d scheduled, or she’d be very much in danger of liking him again in spite of everything.
On Tuesday Leslie noticed a lot of city employees had called in sick, but she wasn’t worried. She never got sick. It wouldn’t be a problem.
***
Chris was doing chin-ups in his office when Andy bounded in with a bigger-than-usual grin on his face. There must be some good news, and Chris couldn’t wait to hear it.
He dropped to the ground and clapped his hands together. “Andy! I’m so happy to see you.”
“And I’m happy to see you, too. Because you, sir, are a genius.”
Chris wasn’t sure he’d use the term “genius,” but sensei might be appropriate for the situation. “I take it you have positive news for me?”
Andy bounced up and down on his heels. “Yes! Band and nice totally worked. I was getting to be friends with Eduardo, and April didn’t like it so she totally dumped him, and he’s headed back to Venezuela. Which is, you know, too bad for him, ‘cause he’s actually a cool guy. But it totally rocks for me.”
“That is fantastic news,” said Chris, raising his hand to high five Andy. “I hope that you and April will soon rekindle your romantic fire.”
Andy chuckled. “Yeah. And, hey, how are things going with you and Ann? It seems like you two are getting pretty serious.”
Chris raised his eyebrows in surprise. He wouldn’t have expected Andy to notice anything about his relationship with Ann. “I don’t think I’d call it serious. We enjoy each other’s company, and I expect to continue to spend a fair amount of time together. We have fun.” Chris shrugged and shook his head. “That’s all there is to it.”
“Really?” Andy wore a skeptical expression. “Because Ann’s doing that thing she does when she gets serious with someone.”
Chris narrowed his eyes. “What thing?” He hadn’t sensed any degree of seriousness in Ann’s behavior, but Andy was in a better position to know.
“You know-that-that thing. She’s always dropping by to give you stuff and check in on you and hang out with you. That thing.”
Chris relaxed. “That’s just an example of her naturally considerate nature, Andy. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the level of seriousness in our relationship.”
“Okay. Whatever you say. You’re the smart one.” Andy still looked unconvinced. “Well, uh, I’ll see you around.”
After Andy left Chris returned to his chin-ups. He enjoyed his relationship with Ann very much, but he didn’t want her to get the idea that they were headed in a serious direction. He felt fairly certain that Ann was on the same page as him, but Andy had raised new doubts. Perhaps it would be best to have a frank conversation with Ann, just to make sure.
And with that his mind drifted back to mentally scheduling his new herbal supplement routine to maximize the benefits to his exercise schedule.
***
By mid-morning on Friday, the day of the crucial Chamber of Commerce meeting, it was unmistakably clear to Ben that Leslie had succumbed to the flu that seemed to have struck a third of the town. When he managed to get her to the hospital, Ann agreed. Leslie was feverish and dehydrated and needed to be admitted immediately.
Leslie didn’t take the news well. No matter how hard Ben tried to convince her that he could put on the presentation without her, she seemed convinced that he would somehow screw it up. She called at least once every hour all afternoon with tips, suggestions, or demands. She even offered to write him an introductory show tune. Ben’s ire mounted with every call.
He’d been there for her all week. He’d answered every question and solved every budget dilemma. The tension between them had been easing, and he’d been almost certain that things were on the mend. Unfortunately, all of Leslie’s micromanaging proved him wrong. She’d needed his budget expertise-that was all. But when push came to shove, she still didn’t trust him.
He gritted his teeth and reviewed his presentation one more time. Other than the necessary deception to maintain his cover identity, he hadn’t lied to her once. In fact, he’d given away more of his past than he probably should have. He’d shared more of himself with her during the first two months they’d known each other than he had with any other new friend that he’d made over the past ten years. It usually took him half a year or more to feel so free when talking to someone, and more often than not he never got there at all. He wasn’t the type to have lots of close friends-just a few at a time. And he’d thought Leslie was one of them. So what had he done to deserve this loss of faith? She still wouldn’t open up to him.
He was starting to wonder if this was all a lost cause. Maybe he should start treating this like nothing more than a temporary job-a way to pass the time until the really important stuff happened. Like Chris.
That thought still hung in the back of his mind when he arrived at the hotel meeting room to make sure all the set-up was done. About fifteen minutes later he heard an all-too-familiar voice call out, “Ben Wyatt!”
He turned to see a rather disheveled looking Leslie walking toward him with a manic smile on her face, asking if she could borrow some money for her cab fare-which she couldn’t read because, according to her, the meter had displayed Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Crap.
Ben led her to a quiet corner to sit down. The heat of her fever practically radiated off her body, and she was clearly delirious. What the hell was she doing here? Why hadn’t Ann stopped her?
He quickly dashed out to pay the cab, and returned thankfully to find Leslie still sitting where he’d left her. “Leslie, you really shouldn’t be here. I’ve got this presentation under control. I’ve led meetings like this dozens of times. You need to be in bed.”
“No. No. No bed. I’m fine.” Her eyes kept going in and out of focus-just one sign of how not fine she was. “Everyone is counting on me. I need to do this.”
Ben’s frustration finally spilled out. “You know, I find it a little insulting that you don’t trust me to handle this.”
She glared up at him. “Well, I’m sorry if I don’t trust liars, Benji Adams.” She drew out the sounds of his name in a sing-song tone.
Ben froze. Holy shit.
He crouched down beside her and hissed, “Don’t ever say that name in public again. Please.”
Leslie rolled her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. “Fine. Whatever.”
Ben grabbed her hand and squeezed a little, trying to jog her back into focus. “Where you did you hear that name?” If his cover was blown, this might be his last day in Pawnee. He had to know.
“Scrapbook. In my garage. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Mayor, I’ve got a speech to deliver.” She rose to her feet and spun to face the poster on the wall behind her, and announced herself as Leslie Monster of Nightline.
Ben fought to control the panic rising in his chest. If what she’d said about the scrapbook was true, and not just more of her delirious ramblings, then it had only been his foolish slip in talking about Ice Town and teen mayors that had led to this. He had no doubt that Leslie would have been the type of girl to save clippings about a teenage mayor in her scrapbook. As long as she hadn’t Googled him, his cover might still be safe. But not if she announced his name from the podium.
“Leslie,” he hissed, “you can’t give this presentation. You’re delirious.”
“You’re delirious!” she snapped back at him. “I’m giving this presentation. The fate of the whole world depends on it.”
Ben rubbed his face with his hands, feeling more desperate by the minute. “Look-you are not giving this presentation. I’ll carry you out of this hotel myself if I have to.”
Leslie’s scowl intensified. “You wouldn’t dare. And I’ll have you know that I’ve got my rape whistle in my purse, and I’m not afraid to use it.” With one last icy glare in his direction, she whirled on her heels and jogged down the center isle toward the front podium.
“God damn it,” Ben cursed under his breath, and speed-walked after her.
Leslie arrived at the front of the room just in time to talk to Tom, who’d walked in with a few old guys. Though Ben had been frustrated with Tom earlier for not helping out, all that was forgotten in the face of the looming disaster of Leslie’s presentation.
“Tom-Tom,” said Leslie, darting behind the man and gripping his shoulders.
“Hey! Don’t get my suit dirty,” said Tom.
Leslie pointed at Ben as he approached. “Tom, you have to stop him. Don’t let him kidnap me before I can save the president.”
Ben’s shoulders slumped. “I’m not kidnapping her, Tom.”
Tom nodded. “That’s a good call. She’s a fighter-you’d regret it almost immediately.”
“Look,” said Ben, “we can’t let her give this presentation. She’s delirious with the flu. She has no idea what he’s saying.”
“Don’t listen to him, Tom,” said Leslie from behind Tom, peering over his shoulder. “He just wants to infiltrate the staff and hand Hogwarts over to the Death Eaters.”
Tom’s mouth hung open for a moment, and then shook his head. “Yeah. She’s delirious.”
Ben took in a deep breath in relief, until Tom spoke again, “But I’m not gonna stop her.”
“What?” Ben could hardly believe his ears.
“Sorry.” Tom shrugged. “She’s my boss, and I have to share an office with her. If I stop her now she’ll be mad at me forever, and make my life a living hell. No-this girl is going on. So you’d better help her pull herself together.”
“Hah!” Leslie grinned. “I win.” She turned and wobbled her way up to the chairs beside the podium. “Come on, Tom. Introduce me, before Ben tries to sabotage me again.”
Ben hurried up to the stage and sat down beside Leslie as the attendees filled in the seats. There had to be over a hundred business owners there; far too many to risk Leslie trumpeting his real name to them. But he’d have to tread carefully-if he applied too much force, she’d probably react badly.
As Leslie straightened her blazer and pointedly ignored him, Ben made a quick mental inventory of his options. Reason with her? Not likely to succeed. Trick her into leaving? Not enough time. Pull the fire alarm? Might work . . . But there was one more thing he could try first.
Ben rested a hand on Leslie’s shoulder, leaned toward her, and spoke in a low, fervent tone. “Leslie-I don’t know what I did to make you angry at me, or-or to make you lose faith in me, but whatever it was, I’m sorry. Very, very sorry. And I want to do whatever I can to make it up to you, but we don’t have time for that right now. I promise that I’ll do whatever it takes as soon as we’re done here. But first, I have a huge favor that I need to ask you.”
Leslie turned her head to meet his gaze with something akin to comprehension in her eyes. At least she was trying to pay attention through her delirious haze. She nodded.
Ben took a deep breath. “Please-please-never mention the name Ben Adams again. To anyone. Not even Ann. And especially don’t say it to anyone here tonight. Please. It’s very important to me.”
Leslie pursed her lips, her forehead scrunched.
Ben held his breath. If this didn’t work it would take him about fifteen seconds to run across the room to the nearest fire alarm. But everyone would see him pull it, so that might backfire. Maybe he’d have to run for the one in the hall and hope Leslie didn’t make it to the podium first-
Leslie nodded. “Okay.”
Ben’s eyes went wide. “Okay?”
“Okay,” she repeated. She almost seemed to understand.
Ben let his hand fall from her shoulder, and waited, his heart in his throat, as Tom went to the podium to introduce her.
She wobbled slightly on her feet as she rose and walked to the podium.
He could still make that mad dash for the fire alarm if he had to. God, he hoped he didn’t have to.
Leslie flipped open her padfolio, and lifted her eyes to the audience. And then something magical happened.
***
Leslie rubbed her eyes and blinked at the sunlight hitting her face. She never slept in past dawn. What was going on? Was this even her bed?
She sat up with a start and looked around at the sterile, impersonal room. Hospital. She was still in the hospital. But what about the Chamber of Commerce meeting?
That’s when it all came flooding back-how she’d stolen her friends’ medicine, sneaked out of the hospital, made it to the hotel, fought with Ben, and gave the presentation. After that it dissolved into a blur.
Oh god. She’d given the presentation, and she couldn’t even remember it. She didn’t know if she’d screwed up or succeeded. She didn’t even know whether or not the Harvest Festival was still happening.
She scrambled for her phone on the bedside table to check her messages.
There was a voicemail from Tom: “Hey, I don’t know if you’ll remember anything that happened tonight, so I thought I’d let you know that you knocked it out of the park. I had business peeps tripping over each other trying to sign up for this party while I was escorting you out. Bottom line-the Harvest Fest is on fire, girl. See ya Monday.”
Leslie sighed in relief and sank back against her pillows. Thank god.
She let herself relax for two or three minutes before starting to think about all the to-do lists that she’d have to start tackling on Monday. Tom and Donna could help with a lot of it, and Ron and Jerry could probably keep the normal Parks functions going in the meantime while she refocused her efforts. And of course beautiful amazing nurse and friend Ann would volunteer some time and moral support. And Ben would help-
That thought brought her up cold.
Ben. They’d fought. Not just a Cold War style standoff. They’d fought for real.
She didn’t remember all the details, but she was pretty sure she’d thrown some harsh accusations his way and called him a liar to his face.
After all he’d done to help her all week, and the gift, and offering to do the presentation himself and working hard on it all day, she’d turned around and stomped all over him.
So, yes, he did lie about his personal life and history. Which was a jerk move. But he was still a valuable colleague, and one should never treat a valuable colleague like crap.
Even worse, she’d begun to think that maybe his lies weren’t as bad as she’d originally believed, and that she’d been overreacting for weeks and really owed him an apology.
Apology.
Crap. Ben had apologized to her, hadn’t he? The image of his rather desperate-looking face rose to the surface of her mind. He’d apologized, and pleaded with her not to tell anyone about his teen-mayor past, and had looked every bit as nakedly honest as he had that day in J.J.’s when he’d confessed about the shooting. She must have re-opened a deep wound with that one.
That brought on a fresh wave of guilt.
Why did he have to be so darn confusing? He wouldn’t let her hate him when she wanted to hate him, yet she could never completely like him, either, because he kept pretending to be open and straightforward when he was really hiding all kinds of secrets and how could she ever really like someone who couldn’t be honest about who he really was?
She had so much to worry about with the Harvest Festival, she really didn’t have time to spend lots of mental energy trying to figure out an enigma of a man (no matter how attractive that enigma might be).
To take her mind off of weird-enigma Ben, she called for a nurse and ordered some breakfast. But hospital breakfast turned out to be depressing and disgusting. (Why hadn’t Ann warned her about this?)
Just when she’d begun to consider sneaking out against her doctor’s advice (again) to get some decent food, there came a knock at her door.
Leslie gulped when she looked up to see Ben standing in the doorway, clutching some takeout containers.
Fortunately he looked just as nervous as she felt, which helped calm her stomach-and were those J.J.’s boxes?
“Hey,” she said, plastering on a smile to hide her nerves.
“Hey there,” he replied, coming in and slowly closing the door behind him. “I brought you some waffles.”
He walked forward and set the box on her meal tray, along with a container of extra whipped cream. Of course he had to go and be extra considerate right when she was on the verge of resolving to not think about him anymore.
“Thank you,” she said. God, the waffles smelled amazing.
“You’re welcome.” He shuffled back a few steps and looked at his feet. “Well-I’ll start with the good news. You said you needed eighty total businesses to participate.”
She raised her eyebrows, her heart speeding up. “Yeah?”
A faint hint of a smile danced at the corners of his mouth. “Well, we have one hundred and ten, and counting.”
Her whole body relaxed, releasing the pent-up tension of her morning worry-fest. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
“You were amazing last night,” Ben said, his smile growing a little. “When you came in I was really worried. But-uh-you pulled it off with flying colors. So-great work.” He nodded.
“Thank you. And thanks for all your help.” She took a breath, and steeled herself. “I know you put in a lot of work yesterday-and all week, really-and I don’t completely remember everything from last night, but I’m pretty sure I treated you like crap. And I’m sorry.”
He heaved a breath, his shoulders slumping. “Yeah. Well. Thanks. And-uh-maybe we should talk about whatever’s been going on between us lately. I want to make things right. But, uh, it can wait until you’re feeling better. You need your rest.”
Leslie shook her head. They had momentum now. No sense in wasting it. “I’ve already slept, like, three times as long as I usually sleep. I don’t need any more rest. Have a seat and let’s talk this out.” Better to get it over with so they could move on with their jobs and she could put all the Ben-confusion behind her.
“Okay.” He pulled a chair from the wall a little closer to her bed and sat down while asking, “So how long do you usually sleep?”
Leslie shrugged. “Oh, three or four hours. Why?”
Ben’s eyebrows shot up as he settled into his chair. “Wow.”
People always said stuff like that, but Leslie didn’t see the big deal. Anyway, on with business. “So,” she said, “I know things have been-icy-between us for the past few weeks. And that was mostly my fault. And I’m sorry. You’re a valuable member of my team, and I shouldn’t have treated you that way. I apologize.”
Ben rubbed his chin. “Uh. Okay. Well, I thought that for a while there I was more than just a member of your team. I thought we were friends. And I feel like I did something to screw that up, and I don’t know what it was. And I really hope it wasn’t-you know-turning you down. Because if it was, that seems a little petty.”
Leslie gritted her teeth together. So he wanted to get into this? Fine. She’d get into it. “It wasn’t. Because, yes, that would be petty. But you know what else would be petty? Telling someone you can’t date them because of an ethics rule when really it’s because you have feelings for Tonya from Indy. I don’t like being lied to.”
Ben scowled. “Tonya? What the hell are you talking about? I already told you that Tonya and I are just friends.”
“And Andy told me that you told him that you thought she was your soulmate but you were nervous about starting a relationship with her.” She couldn’t stop the harsh tone in her voice as the words burst out. She’d been stewing over this for so long, and talking about it reminded her how much it hurt.
“Andy? Andy told you that? And-and you believed him?” Ben’s forehead furrowed with a bunch of narrow grooves that Leslie was pretty sure meant he was angry.
“He said that Chris had told him about you and Tonya, and I figured that your roommate slash business partner slash best friend might be a pretty reliable source,” Leslie replied defensively.
“Oh god.” Ben hopped to his feet and started pacing, running a hand through his hair. After a moment he stopped and met Leslie eyes. “Okay-I have no idea why Chris told him that. And I intend to have words with Chris about it when I see him later.” Ben shook his hands in front of him in emphasis. “But I am not interested in Tonya. I never have been, and I never will be.”
Fine. So Andy had gotten his information wrong. Leslie really should have expected that. But there were still unanswered questions. “But you definitely talked to Andy about being interested in dating someone. If it wasn’t Tonya, who was it?”
Ben sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked at the ground. “It doesn’t matter who it was, because she doesn’t feel the same way about me. It’s a moot point.”
Leslie squeezed her lips together and felt a wobbling in her stomach that had nothing to do with how good those waffles smelled and everything to do with her sudden suspicion about exactly who Ben really might have been talking about with Andy, and how horribly she might have screwed things up. I can’t think about this now. What’s done is done. Like he said, it’s a moot point.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I took hearsay for truth, and overreacted to that hearsay. I’m the worst.”
Ben shook his head. “You’re not the worst. You’re just-passionate about things. Sometimes about the wrong things.”
“God. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” Ben nodded. He sank back into his chair and sighed. “So that’s really what you’ve been upset about for the past month?”
“At first, yes,” Leslie admitted. “I got it into my head that you were a liar, and I started wondering what else you might have been lying about. And then, after I proposed the Harvest Festival, you brought up the whole teen-mayor thing.”
“Ah. That. I was wondering where you’d stumbled across the name Ben Adams.” He looked up at her with intent eyes.
Ugh. Time to fess up. “I thought you looked familiar when you first came to town, and when you brought up the teen mayor and Ice Town, I finally put two and two together. I dug an old scrapbook out of my garage and there you were-or at least teenage you-staring up at me. I mean, that was you, wasn’t it?”
Ben looked down at his hands and nodded. “Yep. That was me.”
“I thought so.” She still felt pretty foolish for the Tonya accusations, but she might as well get all her foolishness done in one fell swoop. She popped open the container of whipped cream and scooped a finger full into her mouth to bolster her confidence. “Okay. Here’s the deal. I was mad at you for pretending like that story was about a friend instead of owning your own failure. I think it was a wimpy, cowardly thing to do. When I have failures, I don’t hide from them. I stare at one of my failures every time I visit Ann’s house. I failed to turn that lot into a park. And there’s a long-long-list of failures that came before that, and I’m sure there will be a long list that comes after. I won’t hide from any of it. And you shouldn’t hide from yours, either. You should own it, and learn from it, and grow from it, and get on with your life.” She took a deep breath. “That being said, I can’t imagine how horrible the people of your hometown must have been to you to make you feel like you had to run away and change your name in order to get a fresh start. And it was wrong of me to throw it in your face like that last night, and I’m sorry.”
Ben leaned back in his chair, but still didn’t meet her eyes. “Okay. Considering you were pretty delirious at the time, I think I can forgive you. And I see your point. I shouldn’t have pretended that my story was about a friend. I guess I just-I-I never thought I’d have any occasion to revisit that time in my life. I’ve put it behind me, and I never wanted to look back. But seeing you put yourself on the line like this for the Harvest Festival stirred up all those old memories, and I don’t want to see you get hurt the way I got hurt. But I should have been straightforward about it. I’m sorry for lying to you.”
Leslie studied his face-letting her eyes linger for the first time in a month. He still wouldn’t meet her gaze. What kind of horrible place was Partridge, Minnesota that the people there had damaged an idealistic young man to the point that he’d wanted to run away from it forever? “Hey,” she said, “it’s okay. What I did to you this past month-god-I was such a jerk. At this point you shouldn’t have to apologize to me ever, for anything. I don’t even know why you were so nice to me this week after the way I’ve treated you. If someone treated me that way, I’m not sure I’d ever forgive them. I don’t really deserve forgiveness. Or waffles. Yet here you are. With both. I don’t get it. Why haven’t you written me off as a complete jerk, yet?”
Ben finally looked up and held her gaze. “I haven’t written you off because I believe that you’re a genuinely good person. And when good people make mistakes, they deserve another chance.” His lips curled up, good humor brightening his eyes. “They especially deserve another chance when they apologize.”
Leslie smiled back at him. “Thanks. I’m still not sure I deserve another chance. Just thinking about how awful I was to you this past month makes me cringe. I owe you big time.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” Ben shook his head.
“Yes. I do.” Leslie closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, remembering all the ways she’d snubbed and shunned him over the past few weeks. All over a few simple misunderstandings. What had she been thinking? Had she been thinking of anything other than her own hurt feelings? “Look-I have it on pretty good authority that I can be a pretty awesome friend sometimes. And I owe you about a year of awesome-friend times to make up for the super crappy friend I was this past month. I personally guarantee that you will never be bored or lonely again for as long as you live in Pawnee.”
Ben was smiling again, but he shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. Really. Starting now. Come share these waffles with me.”
Ben raised his eyebrows.
Leslie scooted over to make room on the bed, and patted the spot beside her. “Come on. Come share with me.”
“Okay.” Looking bemused, he rose and walked to the bed perching gingerly on the edge.
Leslie cracked open the box of waffles and pulled one out, then offered it to Ben. “Help yourself.”
He smiled and looked at her out of the corners of his eyes while ripping a section of waffle off for himself.
“And don’t forget the whipped cream,” she added, putting the container in between them and dipping a piece of her own waffle. Ben followed suit, and for a few minutes they were both occupied with munching down their waffles.
After licking the last of the whipped cream off of her fingers, Leslie worked up the courage to take on a sensitive subject one last time. “So-were they really horrible to you back in Partridge after the impeachment?”
Ben dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin, his eyes darted downward again. “Yeah. It was really crappy. There was lots of name calling. And shunning. I couldn’t get a job. People vandalized my car. They picked on my brother. I got rocks thrown at me a few times.”
Leslie’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god! What kind of people do that to a kid who just wanted to dream big?”
Ben sighed and shrugged. “I guess the people of Partridge aren’t as forgiving as the people of Pawnee.” He lifted his eyes to meet hers. “I know you love your town, but sometimes I don’t think you realize just how good you have it here. Pawnee is a really special place. I’m glad I ended up here.”
Leslie’s breath caught in her throat for a moment. How could he be so nice to her right now? He ought to still be mad at her. She was still mad at her. “I’m glad you’re here, too.”
The silence hung between them for a moment, weighing on her. Finally she cleared her throat. “So-was all that trouble in Partridge why you changed your name?”
She could practically see the walls coming back up in his eyes, and immediately regretted asking the question.
He nodded stiffly. “Yeah-well-a-a time came when I felt like I needed a fresh start and a new identity to protect me from my past. But there’ve been lots of times since then that I’ve regretted the choice to change my name and walk away from my history. I wish I could open up about it with people. But, uh, so much has happened to Ben Wyatt that I don’t think I could go back. I’m Ben Wyatt, now, for better or for worse.”
“Well,” said Leslie, smiling, “I never knew Ben Adams, but I’m sure he was a good kid, and deserved better than what Partridge gave him. But I do know Ben Wyatt. And he’s a good man. A really good one. And I’ve misjudged him for the last time. I promise.”
“Thanks,” he said, his voice just above a whisper. “That means a lot. Really.”
As he held her gaze, all the old attraction welled back up inside of her. She’d really screwed things up. Any chance they’d ever had at romance was probably dead by now. But they could still be friends-and she was determined to make up for lost time.
“Well, now that we’re friends again, we can appreciate Pawnee together,” she said. “Starting tomorrow night, when we appreciate J.J.’s diner together when I buy you dinner.”
“Leslie, you don’t-”
“No.” She cut him off. “I insist. I still owe you a ton of awesome-friend time, remember? I’m taking you to dinner. And that’s just the beginning. There’s plenty more friend-time where that came from.”
His smile relaxed again. “There’s no talking you out of this, is there?”
“Not a chance.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “In that case, I look forward to it.”
“Good,” said Leslie, fighting to quell the butterflies in her stomach. “Me too.”
A few minutes later, as Ben was leaving to let her rest, Leslie called after him, "Hey-I had the wand in my purse last night. I guess it really did work as a good luck charm. So thanks for that."
"Yeah. You're welcome." His parting smile was enough to leave her happy for the rest of the morning. Until lunch time.
Hospital food really sucked.
TBC
Part 10!