Volume, Scene Fifty-One
"There's a girl in my office," Wren said, dumping her briefcase unceremoniously onto the couch in Lee's office. Booth stood by the doorway, hands clasped in front of him. "She made me coffee." She raised her cup to her nose suspiciously and sniffed. "She made... really good coffee, actually."
"Oh, yeah," Lee said breezily, gesturing towards Wren's office and the mysterious girl beyond. "I've been meaning to tell you about her. Name's Lucy, she's a sweet kid. You'll like her."
"She's sweet and I'll like her." Wren frowned at her boss. Booth smirked. "What's wrong with that statement, Mr. President?"
Lee chuckled. "She's a terror and you'll love her," he amended, waving her to her customary seat in front of his desk. "Better? Booth, you can take a break."
Booth didn't move.
"Marginally better," Wren said, balancing papers and coffee as she sat down. "Booth, you can do whatever - I think I'm safe here." Booth nodded and slipped out, leaving the door cracked. Wren arranged all of her things and leaned back, fixing Lee with a stare worthy of the interrogation room. "Who is she?"
"Doc Gabriel-- you met her yet?" At Wren's impatient nod, he continued. "It's her sister. She was on her way back home from university when the attacks came. She was down for pre-law, but she never got a chance to wrap up her political science degree. Anyway, she spent the exodus organizing people on the Zephyr into precincts, apparently."
Wren sipped at her coffee. "And now she makes my coffee? Bet she's loving life." She wiggled her eyebrows at Lee over the rim of her cup.
"Be nice," Lee admonished. "She's really bright. Has good intuition and a healthy sense of humor. Reminds me of someone else I know."
"Ha," Wren said. "You're getting better at this politics thing. Look at that flattery. By your second term, you'll have a constant positive approval rating."
Lee inclined his head. "Everything I know I've learned from you. And my mo-- er, Laura," he corrected.
She grinned. "Any time I'm in company with Laura Roslin, I'll count my life as a success," she said. "So what is her job title, officially? This Lucy girl?"
Lee frowned apologetically. "I was hoping you could figure that out, Chief. I told Doc we could fit her in."
"Huh. Well, you said she had good intuition, right? Hey, Lucy!" Wren yelled over her shoulder, and the young woman in question appeared immediately in the doorway, holding a pile of file folders. Wren grunted. "Intuition's right," she said under her breath. Lee suppressed a grin.
"Yes, Chief?"
Wren squinted at her. "I need the file with the numbers from the Council's official budget proposal for the Capitol renovations project. Preferably with the Quorum's suggested addenda and corrigenda, but if you don't have--"
Lucy moved forward quickly, separating a file from the rest and handing it to Wren. "Here you go, ma'am," she said easily. "I included the Vice President's memorandum as well. It's at the back."
"This wasn't a file when I left yesterday," Wren stated.
"No sir," Lucy answered immediately. "I made it this morning."
"How long have you been here, Lucy?" Wren glanced at her watch. "It's 0800."
"I, uh, got here at 0600, sir," she said hurriedly. "My sister does early morning rounds and I rode in with her."
"Huh," Wren said, shaking her head. "Well. Keep doing what you're doing, okay? And bring me the--"
"Here you go," Lucy interrupted. "Schedule for the week, and the latest polling results. Those have been copied to Mr. Lampkin's assistant."
Lee hid a grin at his Chief of Staff's astonished expression. "We may have to give you a raise, Lucy," he said.
She blushed. "Thank you, sir." She shifted from foot to foot, nervous. "Chief? Was there anything else?"
Wren cleared her throat. "Do you have a desk?"
Lucy nodded. "Yes, sir, I'm in the bullpen next to Mr. Lampkin's assistants."
Wren furrowed her brow and stood up. "What frakking idiot put you there?" she demanded, and Lucy gulped.
"That would be this frakking idiot," Lee admitted. "Though I admit, I've gotten used to 'Mr. President'."
Wren sighed and looked over her shoulder at him. "You can't put her in with Romo's people. He'll steal her when he realizes how talented she is. Have you spoken with Romo today, by the way?" She directed this last bit at Lucy, who shook her head. "Excellent. If you do, and he gives you work, you are to tell him explicitly what he can do with it. And by explicit, I mean both as graphically and as precisely as you choose."
"Yes sir," Lucy grinned. "Where should I move my things?"
"There's extra room in with my secretary," Wren said. "I'll have a desk moved in for you. Go get your things, please, and think of a job title for yourself while you're at it. Dismissed," she added, though Lucy had already walked out the door.
Lee stood up, hands in his pockets. "I think she'll work out just fine," he said.
"Seems the case," Wren agreed. "It begs the question, though, of why you thought I needed her."
"You work too hard," Lee said, matter-of-factly. "Once you figure out that you can trust her, I'm hoping you'll find some time for yourself. Maybe go home at a normal time. Relax a little. You deserve it."
"I don't suppose that you would admit it if I said that Laura put you up to all this," Wren muttered.
"No one has to inform me when your stress level is getting dangerously high," Lee pointed out. "I see you every day, it's not like I don't notice. Let Lucy take over a few things here and there. Subject to your approval," he added hastily. "Seriously. You deserve an hour to yourself now and again."
"I'll take it under advisement," she said, settling back into the chair again. "For now, you're forced to deal with me for morning meeting."
"And may that never change," Lee smiled, raising his coffee cup to her. "What's next?"