Go Big, Go Home (#6b of probably 7)
Title: Go Big, Go Home (#6b of probably 7?)
Author: princess_george
Rating: The series is R; this instalment is not R.
Length: This one's short! About 3,600 words (this instalment, ie just 6b)
Timeline/Spoilers: Takes off from somewhere between "Pawnee Rangers" and "Meet and Greet" - AU from there. Basically another way of thinking through the questions posed by Season 4.
Summary: Leslie and Ben both have some work to do after they break up. Hijinks ensue. If you can say that about responsible grownups like these two.
Part One. Part Two. Part Three. Part Four. Part Five. Part Six(a).
In this chapter: ELECTION RESULTS. Sorry for yelling. It's been an exciting day in Pawnee. We're all kind of on tenterhooks... Because it's time for ELECTION RESULTS!
The glorious illustrations are thanks to craponaspatula. Also rikyl and stillscape offered invaluable assistance, partly in making sure that various & sundry citizens of Pawnee got invited to the party, as well as other wisdom-offering.
Comments nourish the soul like Nutri-Yum bars nourish the development of diabetes.
It’s a strange kind of limbo, Ann is realizing. That time between the polls closing and the election results coming in.
She should be calmer by now. But she’s having trouble letting go of the day. It was so hectic, and she’s still going over it all in her head, trying to think if she forgot anything, trying to remind herself that at this point it doesn’t matter any more. They had a plan, they all worked their butts off, and now they just need to know if it was enough. That’s what it comes down to. Pretty simple, really, after all that craziness.
She's chatting with April's parents, who are bizarrely normal and friendly, when, from across the room, she sees that Leslie has arrived, at last, followed by Ron and Donna and... what, Ben? Did they give him a ride over from City Hall? That’s a bit odd. Maybe he was already planning to come with Donna. But it’s good to see that Ben would come, after everything. He looks pretty relaxed, though, so maybe it’s finally less awkward between them now.
She and Leslie lock eyes and Ann gives Leslie a thumbs-up. Leslie points back and forth between them and does the signal for “talking” with her hand, but Ann makes a shooing gesture and a face to indicate that she’s cool, Leslie should go deal with other people. They can talk later.
Leslie looks over at Ben, then back at Ann, and grabs her phone and types for a moment before moving on to greet the first group of supporters.
Huh.
April's parents go to get a waffle from the buffet and then Ron comes up to stand next to Ann and tips his beer toward hers, clinking them together.
“Well done today.”
“Thanks. But I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”
“We will. But if she loses, it won’t be because you did anything other than a first-rate job.”
Ann brightens. “Thanks, Ron. That means a lot, coming from you.”
“It shouldn’t. I neither know nor care about municipal politics.”
Ann’s had her sarcasm put away all day, just like she does during her nursing shifts, and now she figures she’s entitled. So she gives him a look, eyebrows raised and arms crossed. “Uh-huh. And that’s why you’ve been up since 4 AM today and never went more than five feet from me unless I sent you on some errand.”
“Maybe there were other reasons for some of that.” Ron glares at her, and raises one eyebrow before nodding and heading off.
Ann wrinkles her brow. Huh.
Her phone buzzes so she picks it up to read a text from Leslie which she must have just sent. WE HAVE TO TALK. I love Ben. He loves me. He’s not leaving Pawnee. We're together. I mean, together, together. You know. WE HAVE TO TALK WHEN CAN WE TALK? I love you, too. Not in that way. You know.
Huh again. Possibly more of a wow.
At this point, Ben himself comes to stand beside her, also with a beer in hand, which he, too, is nursing.
“Hey there.”
“Heeeeeeeeeeeey,” she says, grinning over at him. He inclines his head at her, smiling a bit.
“So, I hear you did a fantastic job today.” She decides to hold off for a minute, to go along with the normalcy. Although, to the practiced eye, he looks like he's practically bursting with happiness.
“Oh, well, where did you hear that?"
“William Barnes, actually. Just now I was asking him how the get-out-the-vote process went and he went on and on about how you were amazing.”
“Aw, thank you, that’s good to hear. He said some nice things to me earlier but I never know how to read that guy. But you know, I couldn’t have done it without your help. All those spreadsheets, and all those meetings.”
“Sure you could have. You’d just have a binder the size of the collected works of the Zorpians, instead of a laptop and a few well-designed models. But you would still have figured it out and done a great job.” Ben takes a swig of his beer, and grins at her.
She nods at him. “OK, maybe so. I am pretty awesome.”
He looks out around the crowd, gesturing. “You are. Look at this. Half of these people are here because of your work today to bring them here, to help. Plus, Leslie thinks you're awesome, and this is her night, so she must be right.”
Ann can’t stand it any more. She reaches out to poke Ben on his arm. “OK, dude, so I got a text that she told you that she thinks you’re pretty awesome, too. And vice versa. Which is really awesome.”
He smiles over at her. “It is. Thanks.” Looking at him like this, she realizes how tense he's been in the past months while they've been broken up. It occurs to her how hard all those meetings he'd had with her about the election must have been for him, even though it was just the two of them, and Ann hardly ever mentioned Leslie's name. Tonight he looks easily ten years younger.
They both look over at Leslie, who’s across the restaurant talking with Councilman Howser, her mother and Jean-Ralphio. Ann wonders what on earth that conversation could possibly consist of. It looks like Jean-Ralphio is starting a rap, which Leslie shuts down by grabbing Andy and making him listen to it instead, and then leading her mother and Councilman Howser over to speak with Mr. Kernsten and Ken Hotate and some other people Ann only vaguely recognizes as Chamber of Commerce members.
Ann shoves Ben again. "Wow, Leslie's gotten great at working a crowd, huh?"
He chuckles, then turns to her, musing, “So, it’s a weird time in an election, hey? You put everything out there and then all you can do is wait to find out what decision thousands of other people have made.”
She beams, relieved that he gets it. “Yes! Exactly! It feels so strange. I was so frantic all day, and now there’s nothing I can do any more...”
He nods. “Yup. You just have to let it all go and trust that it was enough.”
She sighs, and looks around the room, full of people, all waiting for the same news. “Yes, that’s it.”
They don’t have to wait long, because just then the televisions break into the local election coverage, and Tom turns up the volume.
The whole room goes silent. Ann sees Leslie catch Ben’s eye, and they smile at each other, and then Leslie smiles at her, too, before turning her eyes to the nearest screen. Ann grabs Ben's arm to have something to hold on to.
Perd Hapley comes on. “Good evening, everyone. The news tonight is that there is news about today’s municipal election in Pawnee, during which voters cast their votes. The main contest was a highly controversial race for city council which, some would say, generated a lot of controversy. Results for this race are now in from 80% of the polling stations, and enough votes have already been counted to call a winner.”
Ann feels like her heart’s both stopped and racing at the same time. She thinks there must be a medical description for this; maybe she’ll look it up later. If she remembers. She looks for Leslie, and she's watching the television, poised, tense, but steadfast, standing between her mother and Ron. She can feel Ben go very still under her grip on his arm.
Perd continues, “Local businessman Doug Forbes and city employee Leslie Knope were the two candidates left standing by the end of this race, and, after exceptionally high voter turnout on election day, with a vote count of...”
Nobody hears Perd’s tally, because the entire room erupts with a collective scream of joy, as they show Leslie’s photo with a huge check mark over her face, and the word “ELECTED” written below.
Ann is laughing, her fists in the air, and she turns to Ben to swat him on the arm or something, but instead he grabs Ann in a huge hug and swings her right around. When he plants her back on the ground they high-ten each other like high school athletes, laughing in each other’s faces and then turning to clap and cheer and, in Ann’s case, jump up and down a little bit.
A phone bank volunteer next to Ann grabs her for a hug, and then another one does, too, and one of the drivers does, and she does the rounds with a whole bunch of volunteers, and then they all go back to the clapping and cheering and, again, a little bit of jumping up and down. OK, maybe a lot of jumping up and down.
Across the room, Ann can see that Leslie is being hoisted up between Andy and Ron on their shoulders, which seems precarious from a distance, but Leslie clearly doesn’t care. She’s laughing and smiling and whooping at the whole roomful of people, and, just for a moment, Ann catches her eye, and then she’s looking at Ben and she gives him a little inquisitive look, as if to say, Did you imagine? and Ann sees Ben raise his hands in a gesture that’s like a shrug, somehow saying No and Yes and Of course all at the same time, and he gives her the softest, most tender, proudest look Ann has ever seen on anyone.
Ann definitely needs to schedule some one-on-one time with Leslie to hear more about how this all happened, but she recognizes that maybe she’ll have to wait a day or two for that. And then she'll set up another coffee meeting with Ben, too.
Ben himself puts his arm around her shoulders and gives her a half-hug, beaming down at her, before dropping his arm to keep clapping.
Then JJ points Ron and Andy to a sturdy little table for Leslie to stand on, and they deposit her on it without dropping her (although it’s a close call for a second, until Ron steadies her by the elbow), and it’s time for her to give her speech.
It takes a while for the room to quiet down, and throughout the speech various people, not all of them Andy, keep erupting into random whoops.
Leslie’s positively incandescent as she begins, taking a moment to look around her. Friends, Honored Guests, Pawneeans: I’m Leslie Knope. And, I’m your new city councillor!
The room erupts into wild cheers. Leslie has to wait for the chants of “Knope! Knope! Knope!” to die down a bit.
First, I’d like to thank my opponents - both Doug Forbes, and also Marcia Langman. It’s so incredibly important for people to enter public life and give the citizens of Pawnee a real choice in their elected officials. So I thank you now for a good campaign, and for challenging me at every turn, even if I may not have thanked you at the time!
This earns a good-natured round of applause from the crowd, and another chorus of “Knope! Knope! Knope!” which only ends when Leslie puts her hands on both Andy’s and Ron’s shoulders to quiet them, and Donna puts a warning finger on Jean-Ralphio's forehead, which silences him instantly.
I’d also like to thank my mother, Marlene Griggs-Knope, who instilled in me from a very young age a respect for public service and a whole lot of determination. She’s truly one of a kind and has been a great role model for me, and always taught me that you can pursue your dreams, no matter what they are.
If Ann didn’t know Marlene better, she’d swear she was looking a little misty-eyed at that.
If my father had lived to see this, I know he would have been proud of me, and I would want to tell him it's because of his love and good advice that this day has come.
Ann has only heard Leslie mention her father a couple of times in passing, and she's surprised to see the emotion on Leslie's face and hear the catch in her voice.
Leslie looks down and around her, and her voice strengthens.
And to my colleagues and friends at City Hall, particularly in the Parks and Recreation department, words can’t capture the way I feel about you. Well, “waffles” maybe comes close, but still. Thanks for everything, over the years and through this campaign. I have become what I am because of the support and love you’ve given me. You've made me a better public servant and a better friend. We don't always see eye to eye, but, as Andy Dwyer would say, that's what makes the sauce so awesome.
Andy and Chris both have tears streaming down their faces. Ron’s mustache is twitching. Tom looks completely psyched. April has totally lost her cool and actually looks pleased. Donna and Jerry are beaming.
Thanks to my campaign team, particularly William Barnes and Elizabeth McArthur, who took me from a dreamer to an actual candidate, with signs and financing and a strategy beyond just saying “I want to win.” There were other advisors and supporters, many of whom don’t want to be in the spotlight at all, but who guided me at every step with their wisdom earned over the years. She finds Mr. Kernsten in the crowd and smiles at him.
She gestures around the room with a huge beaming smile. And a huge thank you to all the volunteers who worked on the campaign - I still can’t believe how many doors got knocked on, how many envelopes got stuffed (she looks around at this, and Ann knows she's looking for Jerry, who's chosen this moment to tie his shoelace, so Leslie can only see his butt, so she gives up and moves on), how many signs made it onto lawns, how many raccoons had to be outrun, how many waffles got delivered (she smiles down at JJ, who nods back at her) - that all happens because of volunteers, and the fact that people care enough about Pawnee to put their time in to do something like this makes me so incredibly happy and proud to work with you all and share this great town with you.
This elicits a huge round of cheers, and Leslie pauses, clapping along with everyone else. When it’s abated a bit, she continues.
In particular, I’d like to single out someone who is usually an unsung hero - this person put up with me when, believe me, nobody else would have or should have, who answered every call and every text and every frantic question, and I really owe her this victory because of her amazing and brilliant and tireless efforts throughout the campaign but especially her absolute genius today - ladies and gentlemen, the one, the only --- Ann Meredith PERKINS!
Leslie reaches towards Ann exultantly with both arms, and, to Ann’s shock, the whole room turns to her, breaking into a huge round of enthusiastic cheering and clapping, complete with table-thumping and whistling and whooping. Even April is applauding, for heaven's sake. Ann beams at Leslie as Ben chucks her on the shoulder, and thinks that politics is the awesomest ambition a best friend could have.
Leslie keeps looking in their direction.
I’d also like to thank a man who’s been an inspiration to me for almost twenty years, although I only met him in person less than two years ago. He’s taught me so much about responsible government, and helped me stay focused on why I was running in the first place at some really critical moments, and helped me remember what’s really... really the most important... what's really the centre of your life. So thanks to Ben Wyatt for being the best thing to arrive in Pawnee since high fructose corn syrup!
Applause breaks out, led most loudly by Donna, Tom, Andy, and April, who whistle and whoop, with Chris joining in, and Marlene clapping enthusiastically, what has been going on here? Ben keeps his arms folded, and ducks his head a bit, but Ann can see him smiling up at Leslie, who’s beaming down at him, tossing her curls around just a tiny bit, although with the gravitas that befits a new city councilwoman.
Leslie looks around the room again, and then, for the first time, directly addresses the media cameras that are pointed towards her.
And finally, most importantly, I’d like to thank the people of Pawnee. I’m so honoured that so many of you have placed your trust in me by electing me. Thank you so much for that. I look forward to serving all of you in this new role, whether you voted for me or not, just as diligently as I’m proud to serve you as a member of the City staff.
This whole campaign has been such a journey, and it’s allowed me to meet and get to know so many more people than I’d ever have thought possible. I thought I knew Pawnee before this campaign, but the past few months have shown me new sides to this town I love, and I know that being on City Council will show me even more, and I love all of it. Every last bit of it.
I’m certainly far from perfect; but one thing I’ve learned over the course of this campaign is that being right every time isn’t the most important thing. The most important thing is to listen to the people around you and recognize when they’re right.
So I promise to listen, and to work as hard as I can, with you, to make Pawnee even better. There are so many things I really want to do, and I know we can do them together! But tonight, it’s time to party! Thank you everyone, so so much!
Leslie thrusts her fists into the air, and the room erupts into cheers. Leslie gets down from the table to hug and high-five, and the DJ from the Bulge puts Mouse Rat on the sound system.
Ben turns to Ann, and says, “So? Are you hooked on politics yet?”
Ann feels a bit intoxicated, and it’s not the half a beer she’s managed to drink. She’s pretty sure the phrase grinning like an idiot was coined for her, and certainly Leslie, and possibly for Ben, too, and for half the people in this place. “I am starting to see the appeal, I must say.”
"And now do you feel like you did a good enough job today?"
Her grin gets even wider. "Why yes, in fact, yes I do!"
They clink their beers together and then wade into the sea of people to go congratulate Leslie in person. It takes a while, because Ann and Ben get interrupted by people congratulating them, and all in all, it’s got to be just about the best party Ann’s ever been to in her whole entire life.
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A little later on, Ben’s standing in the back of the crowd, arms folded, surveying the scene and watching Leslie make the rounds like an old hand. She’s hugging April's ex-boyfriends, high-fiving one of the Zorpians, giving Tanya the salad lady her ear as they all shout congratulations over the din of the crowd and the music.
Chris comes up beside him and mirrors his stance. Ben looks over at him and nods. They both watch Leslie as she talks excitedly with JJ.
After a few moments, Chris bumps him with his shoulder. “So, I was heading to my office about two hours ago to pick up my gym bag, and ran into Donna, who barred me from entering. That woman can be formidable when she chooses. Looks like you got that job offer just in time, hey?”
Ben chuckles. “It does. Chris, that was, um, that just happened tonight...” He trails off, and just looks at Chris, suddenly stricken with worry.
Chris twinkles at him. “I know. I really do. Or what I don’t know, I don’t want to know at this point.”
He bumps Ben with his shoulder again. “And I’m happy for you. I had kind of figured out who you were enamored with, once you talked to me. It took me a while, since I wasn’t looking for a blonde at first, but eventually I clued in. And I checked over your record for any irregularities with respect to the Parks Department, just to be on the safe side, but, of course, didn’t find any. So now it’s all a bit moot. And Leslie is a wonderful person. As are you. Of course.”
They look at each other. Ben begins, “Listen, it’s really been great working with you, Chris. I know I can be a bit of a black cloud sometimes, but I want you to know I’ve taken in some of your positive attitude along the way, too.”
Chris beams at him. “That’s literally the nicest thing I’ve heard all day, Ben!”
Ben smiles back. “Although I will not miss your music choices during road trips.”
Chris' face gets serious. “Ben, I still say that throat-singing brings your blood pressure down. There’s research...”
Ben just laughs, and then Chris does too.
“Congratulations to you, Ben. On all of it.”
“Thanks, Chris. Really.” Ben looks over at Leslie as she hugs Mel, who’s looking less cranky than Ben’s ever seen him at any public forum, and thinks, Yeah. Congratulations to me.
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TBC - I'm not quite done with this. In the next chapter: making out. Of course. Plus, Ron is the subject of academic interest, and we hear more about Leslie’s housekeeping. Did I mention the making out?
Here's the last chapter!