Disclaimer: I don't own "Commander in Chief" or any of the characters.

This is based a few years later after the series, the twins are off to college.

She turned to the clock, 7:00 pm, and another day gone. A minute went by, and she sat there, not thinking about anything. She realized, she hadn't eaten that day, or have slept more than a few hours in the past 4 days. Campaigning, State of the Unions, etc, had been keeping her really busy. She suddenly found herself extremely tired, hungry, and aching for a shoulder massage, and just then se remembered she was to fly to South Carolina next day. SC had just been hit by a hurricane, and thousands of families had been left homeless. She was to meet with the governor and go to some shelters, as well as the most affected areas. She was then to be at the inauguration of some new public clinic in Pittsburgh. Just thinking about it, made her completely exhausted. So, she decided to call it a night, eat something, get some rest and regain some strength for tomorrow. She wished Rod was home, but unfortunately he was out of town and wouldn't be back until late tomorrow. She put away her work, and walked home. She went into the kitchen, asked for some dinner to be taken up to the residence and proceeded to go upstairs. She changed, and went to look for Amy.

"Hey there, baby!" Mac said as she entered her room.

Amy jumped happily to hug her mother. "Hi mom!"

"Have you done your homework?"

"Yes"

"Did you have dinner already?"

"Yes"

"I'm sorry I didn't make it soon enough to have dinner with you" Mac said as she hugged her youngest daughter.

"Ok. Can I sleep with you tonight?" Amy asked.

Mac thought for a minute. She felt so guilty leaving her all day, and have dinner by herself. On the other hand, she felt wiped, without energy, and just wanted to lay down and not think. Guilt won though "Sure you can baby. I need to tell you though I'm most likely not going to be much fun tonight; I am really tired and will probably fall asleep early."

Amy was so excited, she didn't care "Thank you! I can take my movie and watch it in your room".

"But please please promise me, you will go to bed early" Mac said pleadingly.

"I promise"

So they walked to the master bedroom, Amy turned the DVD player on and sat down next to Mac, who was eating dinner. As soon as she finished, she washed and changed, and dragged herself to the bed. Amy was patiently waiting for her, sitting on Rod's side of the bed. She turned the light off, and sat down next to Amy, wishing to watch the movie. However five minutes hadn't passed before she realized she was falling asleep. Se lay down, said good night to Amy and passed out. It was before 9 pm, but she didn't care. She was too tired.

As soon as the video ended, she went to bed. After all, she had promised her mom she was going to bed early. She knew Mac had made an effort to talk to her and spend some time with her, and didn't want to disappoint her mom.

Soon after 11, the phone rang. It took a while for Mac to wake up and realize what was going on. It turned out to be Anthony Prado, who needed her back in the West Wing ASAP. Without hesitation she got ready and walked hurriedly. Anthony was waiting for her outside the Sit Room, with a huge mug filled with coffee. She couldn't help but smile. She was soon briefed before entering the room. A Pakistan male, was caught speeding and driving without headlights, and as police inspected the car, they found explosive materials, as well as blueprints of some federal buildings. He was being transferred to the FBI at that time, and the staff was going over possible outcomes, as well as solutions. Mr. Prado informed the president that Jim Gardner had been impossible to reach. There had been a black out in his neighborhood, and his mobile phone was dead. They were going to send someone to his home, but wanted to check with the president first. She though about it for a second, remembering how tired they all had been and decided at least someone should get some rest. Once in the room, thoughts and ideas came pouring, FBI was doing everything in their power to get some answers, and a crisis waiting to be solved popped up. By 6 the following morning, they had some answers. Some buildings had been planted with bombs, and everything was done to alert workers not to show up for work, remove the materials, and keep this from the press. Needless to say hectic was an understatement for everything going on. Jim got in at 7, and was briefed. He went straight to the Oval Office to talk to the president, he felt so bad about having stayed home! They decided she shouldn't cancel her appointments, to avoid suspicion. It was enough to call the workers and ask them to stay home, they thought. She only hoped that by noon, everything will be cleared. She went back to the residency, woke Amy up, and helped her get ready for school. She changed and got ready to board Air Force One. Once on board, meetings about the bombs continued, though everybody tried to stay positive.

They landed in South Carolina, and the governor with his committee was waiting for her. They visited some shelters, and she met some survivors. She walked all through the places, and talked to children. They then visited the area were the hurricane had hit most severely, and they walked all through the broken houses and cars, shattered pieces of glass, torn down furniture, etc. It was an all too shocking scene. They talked about the emergency aid that had been sent, and about what else could and should be done. It was clear, that it hadn't been enough. Mac, Jim, and Vince boarded the plane, feeling lucky not to have been there, or not having relatives living there. It was almost 2 pm, and she had to be in Pittsburgh by 4:30, she was to be the guest of honor at the inauguration. She had to shower, change, and read her speech. She was so tired she couldn't move. She had been on her feet all day, and her feet were killing her. At least, she thought to herself, the bomb crisis had been averted and no one had been hurt.

She got ready and soon they were landing in Pittsburgh. She reviewed her speech on the way to the event. It was a great clinic. It had over 30 inpatient rooms, as well as outpatient offices. It had some radiological technology, a CT scan, an ultrasound machine, a bone scan, even an angiogram unit. It had 2 small OR's and a small recovery unit equipped like an intensive care unit. Mac received the tour, and was proud to be there. Medical graduates were going to volunteer on a weekly basis, and some nearby hospitals had offered to send some residents to do clinic hours at the hospitals. The community residents were gathered outside, and couldn't hide their happiness to have a clinic for them now. Before this, they had to drive almost 2 hours for a clinic. It was amazing to think that in the US, some communities still lacked something as basic as first level health care.

Back in the plane, a million "little" conference calls were to be done, some reports needed to be signed etc. It didn't take long to be back in the Oval, getting briefed by Kelly and other staff. It was already 8, and the day far from over. Every time she left the office for a day, a million things piled up. She was to meet with Jim in a few minutes, to review some bills that had been on the legislative floor and had yet to be voted on, as well as some reports that needed her signature. Her feet were killing her; she could even feel the muscles on her feet tight as she walked to sit on one of the couches. She just needed to take her shoes off and lay down for a minute, Mac thought. She hadn't felt so tired in her life, and wondered if she could actually continue at this pace. She got to the couch, took her right shoe off, as she gently massaged her foot. The touch of her hands felt so good on her achy musles. She turned to her left foot, and massaged it as well. She had her eyes closed trying to enjoy this moment, she didn't realize Carl Brantley walk in. He had just gotten back from LA from meetings and the president had asked to be briefed. Although he knew it was late and that she must be exhausted, she always worked late, so he didn't have second thoughts about walking into her office. He walked in and saw her reaching for her feet, and thought about how it would feel to walk on high hills and to wear them everyday! Her eyes were closed, and he could see her features, tense and tired. He had never seen her like that, and thought best to leave. However, he wanted to help her. So, in the name of the old friendship they had he reached for her shoulders, moving his hands gently, trying to relieve some of the tension and tightness of her muscles. She looked back, and drew a wide, wary smile on her face. "You look like you need this", he said. "This feels so great, hhmmm", she managed to articulate, as she positioned herself with her legs up, and let her back rest. Carl's hands fell so good, as they moved from her shoulders, her upper back, her neck, and her head. Before he realized, she was dead asleep. He walked and dimmed the light, and started to close the door. Just then Jim walked in, when he saw both of them. Both of them walked outside, and closed the door. He explained that the president seemed exhausted, and that she probably should head home and rest. Jim agreed on this, and was about to call Rod when he remembered he was out of town and wasn't supposed to be back until later on.

Neither of them wanted to wake the president, but realized she was going to be more comfortable resting on her bed. So they both walked in, and Carl gently touched one of her shoulders and talked softy to her ear "Mac, Mac, wake up". She opened her eyes, and didn't know what was going on! She sat up, and looked around. She was confused. Both men were smiling, and Carl said "Hey there! Feeling better?" Mac was still a little confused. Carl continued "Ready to go home? I'll walk you to the residence. You can change and go back to sleep on your bed. I bet it is more comfortable." Mac smiled, and said "Thank you Carl".

"Great, let me just get my stuff and lock my office and I'll be right back, ok?"

"Sure. Jim could you hold on for a minute?" watching both of them walk out.

"Of course", he said as he started to walk back in.

"Was there a lot of work for tonight?" she asked

"Don't worry ma'm. Nothing that can't wait" Jim answered, reassuringly. "I know you haven't slept much, and have been working hard. I know taking time off might seem tricky, specially at a time like this. But, why don't you take tomorrow morning off? I'm sure we can reschedule your meetings."

Mac just looked at him and said "Sounds great. Please have Vince reschedule my morning."

"Sure ma'm. I realize you have had a terrible couple of weeks, specially these last few days. I feel terrible about not being here last night, and have you deal with everything. I know you deserve more time off, but am glad that you are at least taking it easy tomorrow"

"Don't worry about last night Jim. Just imagine if neither had gotten any rest!"

Just then Carl walked in. "Ready?" he said.

"More than ready" she answered.

"Good night ma'm" Jim said as he walked out the door.

Mac stood up, picked up her shoes, and started walking towards her desk. She put everything away, and locked her drawers. Together, Mac and Carl started walking. They talked about their college days, as they laughed about old adventures. Just as they were about to reach the residence, they saw Rod walking towards them. "Hey" he said "I was just going to look for you. I got in earlier than predicted!" he said while giving her a small kiss on her forehead. "Hi Carl, how are you doing?" Still, looking at her wife, he said "Are you ok? You don't look good?".

"I'm just tired" she said.

"Well, this is it for me then" Brantley said. "I was just walking her home after a long day, or better said, long days. Have a good night and hope you feel better tomorrow" he said to Mac as he said good bye. "See you later Rod"

Rod and Mac continued to walk. She was so happy Rod was home, she couldn't hide it. Rod gently took her portafolio from her hands, as well as her shoes. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he hugged her sideways. They continued to walk, as Rod told her all about his trip. They checked up on Amy, and she was chatting with someone over the internet. She hugged her mom, but was eager to go back to the computer. Mac noticed this and wished her good night.

Once in their bedroom Mac just let herself drop backwards to the bed. Rod smiled as he gently sat down next to her. She had her eyes closed, and as he stroked her hair he asked "Are you sure you are ok honey?" She opened her eyes and said "Don't worry Rod, I am just so exhausted and need some sleep. My legs hurt, especially me feet, I have been up walking all day. I hate high hills!" She laughed just listening to herself "I sound like a total whiner".

He moved down the end of the bed, grabbed her feet and started rubbing them. "You must really feel tired, if you are actually wiling to tell me! And no, you have never been a whiner. And I love you for that. You should get changed, you'll be more comfortable."

"I can't move, and your hands are magic" she said.

Rod smiled at her wife. He thought she was the most beautiful woman, and he was so proud of her. Watching her relax after hard and long days, and letting him into her most deep feelings did wonders for him. He knew his wife was a strong independent woman, and tried to be invulnerable. However, he new better. He new it was not easy for her to be laying down telling him how tired she was, complaining about shoes! And at that moment, he felt the most important person in the world. He was the only person whom she could be herself, and lose her presidential pose. He was lost in his thoughts when he realized Mac had passed out asleep. And although he didn't want to, he woke her up to get into night clothes. Soon, she was tucked in and sleeping. She told Rod to please turn off her alarm clock off, she was going to sleep in next morning.