PROMPT FROM CASSANDRAMCCORD- you can find her work here- s/12795720/1/Collections-From-The-McCord-Files
What is Henry wasnt allowed to tell Elizabeth about his work in the NSA during 1.07, and she struggles to believe that her husband is not having an affair.
all mistakes are my own- reviews are nice;) If you have propmts, feel free to write them in the comments- I don't have social media, (Tumblr ect) So, the comments is the place to put them. Happy reading.
From when Daisy told her about the rumour that her husband could be having an affair, she felt off balance. He wouldn't cheat, would he? They're happy? Elizabeth sat in her chair and her mind wondered to the worst scenarios. She hadn't been home properly in almost a week, coming home at early hours of the morning, just to get a few hours sleep before coming back to the office due to everything in India. Maybe if she was home more... they'd barley seen each other for nearly two months. Maybe he found someone who-
No.
Elizabeth stopped herself. She loved and trusted her husband. But... she had to ask him. She had to hear it from him. There was no way Elizabeth couldn't talk to him about this. And so Elizabeth grabbed her coat and told blake she was going home, that there was nothing she could do here due to problems with foreign governments, and she missed her family.
As she opened the front door, she took a breath, her heart was beating so dramatically, she feared he would hear it. As she met his eyes, he smiled, standing up to greet her at the doors of his office, and Elizabeths mind was working overtime, so awkwardly, she hugged him, a quiet "hi" leaving her lips.
"Hey." He said, walking back to his desk, and he looked at her, "Everything okay?" He asked, watching as she paced slowly. She'd planned to ask him calmly, her voice strong, but her mind had other idea's and the words blustered out before she could stop them.
"Are you having an affair?" She asked, her arms in the air. "I heard it. I don't believe it. But I need to hear it from you." Elizabeth said to him, and she watched as he took off his glasses, and looked to the ground. She felt sick. Physically sick.
"Ohh... my god." Elizabth said, taking a breath, her world stopped turning, then continued in slow motion as she looked at him.
"No" Henry said, emotionless. And Elizabeth didn't know how to feel. Angry? Upset? Hurt? All she felt was confusioned.
"Well," She laughed bitterly, "You're going to have to be a lot more convincing. Immediately." She told her, anger finding its way into her.
"Elizabeth..." Her husband said in a way that made her skin itch, her heart ache, and her head spin.
"Wow, okay" Elizabeth said, starting to pace again, and Henry began to speak but she just spoke over him.
"How long?" She asked, "Weeks? Months? Before I was even secretary of state?" Elizabeth asked, her voice gradually getting louder, and Henry thanked god their children weren't home.
"I'm not having an affair." He told her, throwing his glasses onto the table.
"Daisy found Stevie at a bar, drunk, because she saw you with a young woman, who you said was a grad student?" Elizabeth said to him, in a tone that was very clear that she didn't believe him.
"Have you lost your mind?! I'm not having an affair." Henry said in a tone that made her listen, and she looked up to meet his eyes, and relaxed as she saw no evidence he was lying.
"You're not?" Elizabeth asked.
"No." Henry told her, because he wasn't. and she nodded.
"Okay. I believe you." She told him, "But if I find out your lying, Henry I-" Elizabeth went to threaten, but he nodded. Elizabeth knew her husband, he'd never hurt her.
"I know." He said, and wrapped his arms around her as she walked into him, relaxing in his hold. Just a few more week, he thought to himself, and then you can tell her.
Her husband was picking the plates of the kitchen table, laughing at something their middle child said, when his phone began to ring. Elizabeth was going to shout him and tell him, before she read the caller ID. Who the hell was Sarah? Elizabeth went to answer, but stopped herself, telling herself that she trusts him, and that its most likely a collgue, or an old friend, and went to walk into the living room where her husband walked off to when his phone pinged.
'I need to see you. Its urgent.' the text from Sarah read, and Elizabeth went to pick up his phone tp call the number when she heard him start to walk in, and she backed away and opened the fridge.
"Everything okay?" He asked as he walked in, and she shit the fridge door, and smiled, and henry kissed her head.
"Yeah." She said, and began to drink her wine as he picked up his phone, watching as his facial expression read confution, and a hint of worry, then he typed something.
'Really? Now?' He replied, and his phone pinged not ten seconds later.
'Yes. The black SUV four blocks away.' And Elizabeth watched as her husband sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and placed his phone in his pocket before grabbing his coat.
"I have to run out, smething about a second opinion on a paper. I wont be long." He said to her, kissing her soflty before basically running out of the house.
"Where's dad going?" Ali asked as she made her way upstairs.
"I don't know, baby." Elizabeth said, and Ali nodded her head slowly, and Elizabeth drank the last of her drink and made her way to bed, refusing to think about what was going on.
Henry walked four blocks and jumped into the SUV, and sighed.
"How urgent is this, exactly? My wife already thinks I'm having an affair and a weird outing at eight pm isn't going to help that." Henry told both Sarah, and Dale, the IT guy.
"He know about the bug." Sarah told him.
"How? Henry asked.
"He works for very high and powerful men, he'll always be on the lookout for them." Dale told him
"Why couldnt this have waited until tomorrow?" Henery asked.
"Because if he knows about the bug, he knows your working or us and we can use that to our advantage. Tomorrow we will meet at our agreed location, we'll wire you, and you will go and offer him something he cant refuse." Sarah told him.
"Which is?" Henry asked.
"His son. The men he works for are very dangourus, and he'll want his son to have protection. You simply going to tell him we can do that, as long as he helps us in retrun." Srah said.
"So your going to use his son agsint him?" Henery raised an eyebrow.
"No. Were just going to make sure he knows whats at stake if he continues dealing with these people. And how we can help as long as we get what we need. That's all. You can go back to your family now." Sarah said, and Henry nodded, opening the door and heading out, when Srah placed a hand his arm.
"For what its worth, I'm sorry that this is causing an issue with you and your wife, bit in a few weeks state will be in on the op, and she'll know the truth. Just hold on a little longer." Sarah said.
"Copy that." He told her, and shut the door, before heading home.
Elizabeth was lay wide awake in bed when she heard the door open. Looking at the time, Elizabeth saw that he'd only been gone half an hour, maybe it was just a second opinion on a paper. She thought to herself, and when the bedroom door opened she looked at him, he was a lot more worked up and stressed than he was before he went out, and that worried her.
"Are you okay?" Elizabeth asked him, and he lay next her.
"Yeah, just work." He said, and he wasn't lying, exactly. Damn, he wished he could just tell her.
"You wanna talk about it?" Elizabeth asked softly, and he placed his hand in hers and squeezed it. He really wanted to talk to to her about it. it was so temping to just turn a lamp on and blurt out that hes working for the NSA to bring down a massive drug cartel. But he couldn't, and so he just kissed her, and smiled.
"it's nothing compared to the stress your under. I'm here for you. Always. I love you." Henry told her, hoping to stop her mind from running through reasons to believe hes having an affair. because that hurt him most of all.
"I love you, too." She told him, her body relaxing, and she moved into his embrace and closed her eyes.
The last thing Elizabeth expected at work the next afternoon was Mike B walking into her office.
"Mike, what can I do for you?" Elizabeth asked, placing her pen down.
"It's more like what can I do for you, Elizabeth." Mike said, raising his eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth asked.
"I've heard... rumours. About your husband." Mike said, and the secretary sat up, "I can get it figured out, give me three days. I just need your permission." Mike told her, and she looked down at her rings, and her mind flashed back to the late night phone call, and how he stuck out his morning.
"Do it." She said quietly.
"If its true, if he's having an affair, i'll know in three days. Nothing gets past me. I'll see you on Friday." Mike said, and she nodded, looking to the floor, before sitting back down, twirling her rings around her finger.
"Ma'am. Minister Chen is on the line." Naidne told her, and she nodded, getting her aced game face on, and changing the world.
Mike's hired PI followed Henry, his camera at the ready to see if theres anything going on. On day one,
He watched as Henry met up with a young woman, snap.
He watched as they smiled at each other, snap.
He watched as they walked into what looked at be either an apartment building, or a shop, snap. In the back of the NSA safe house, Dale wired Henry ready for his meeting with the French scholar.
"Do you know what to do?" Sarah asked, and Henry nodded.
"Admit to everything, make him feel as though he can trust us, mention his son, guarantee safety for him if he helps us." Henry told her, and she nodded.
"If he tries anything, our guys will be right in, good luck." Sarah nodded, and Henry nodded back. Heading out.
He waited, and waited, and he watched as Henry walked out over an hour later, zipping up his jacket, snap.
The man then sent a text to Mike, I'll have these printed by this evening, I cant follow him for the rest of his day, he'll get suspicious, and he's alone.
The next day, Mike's hired PI watched as the woman met Henry at Georgetown,
He watched as they walked the campus, talking, snap.
He watched as they laughed at something, snap.
He watched as he went to head back into the building.
He watched as the womans hand grabbed Henry's, turning him around. snap. Sarah let go off his hand and sighed. "You need to be careful, we have him where we want him but he works for people much higher than we thought. I don't want to be the one who tells your wife your dead, so just, watch out. My ass is on the line here." Sarah said, and he nodded, before walking back to campus.
He watched as the woman watched Henry walked away, snap. His phone pinged It was Mike. I just got yesterdays pictures. Henrys a dick. Keep getting the shots. But if you leak them I will hire someone to kill you.
Later that day, the PI watched as they met in a parking lot,
He watched as they spoke, his camera ready.
He watched as he handed her a box, watched as she took it. snap, snap, snap. The box contained a bug the French scholar gave him, full of information about the next big drug deal, "You did good, Henry. And you can relax now, state will be let in on the op on Monday." Sarah smiled.
"Finally." Henry laughed, and the two hugged.
He watched as they hugged, snap.
He watched as they smiled at each other, snap.
He watched as Henry walked away, and into his car. And then he went home to give Mike B what he asked for.
When Friday came, Elizabeth was to distrcted, awight Mike B that she didn't even notice her staff walk in.
"Ma'am. About the Iran deal." Nadine said, and Elizabeth looked up
"It seems China have some things to say." Daisy said, and went to pass her the ipad when Mike walked in.
"Everybody out." He said, his voice deep and serious.
"Were in the middle of a meeting, you're the one innturup-" Matt started.
"Everyone out before I say things i'll regert." Mike B said,and the staff all got up and left, and once he heard the door shut, he looked at Elizabeth, and then to the griund, and in that moment she wished the floor would open up and swallow her.
"So its true." Elizabeth said, holding herself together.
"It looks that way, although there really is no proof, theyre very good at hiding. We couldn't even find her online." Mike said, holding a file.
"Are they pictures?" Elizaeth asked, and Mike nooded. "Let me see." She told him, and he passed her the file.
In the file was everthing, from pictures of them both entering a building, and himleaving over an hour later, what she could only imagine is lunch dates at Georgetown, the both of them laughing, them holding hnads, them in a coffee shop. Everything, and Elizabeth really thought she was about to puke. How could he do this? She trusted him with her heart... with her life. Did these last two decades mean nothing to him? Did she mean nothing to him?
"Do you know how long...?" Elizabeth question faded, but he understood.
"According to my source it started about five or six months ago." Mike told her.
"A month after I become secretary of state." She laughed bitterly, a month, that was all it took for him to give up on her. On them. On their family.
"I'm sorry." Was al Mike could think to say, and she nodded, refusing to cry, and mike went to speak when her doors barged open and Russell walked in.
"Bess come on your needed in the situation room, weve been ringing for ten minutes." Russell told her, she didn't even hear her phone, her eyes fixed on the pictures in front of her.
"Bess? Cant you hear me? We need to go!" Russell rushed at her.
"Russell.. I wouldn't." Mike said.
"Get out." She spoke sharply, and the men turned to her.
"Exucse me." Russell spat.
"Russell, get out of my office. Tell POTUS I have a family emergency." Elizabeth said, placing all the photos back into the file.
"Is everthing okay?" He asked, and Elizabeth shook her head, her eyes filling.
"Will you both just please leave." She said in a voice none of the men recognised, it was small, weak. So they did, once in the lobby Russell looked at mike.
"Whats going on?" Rusell asked, already on the phone to POTUS.
"Like she said, family emergency." And he got into the elevator, and Russell looked back, before doing the same.
Back in her office, Elizabeth placed a hand to her mouth to muffle a sob that choked out, tears falling freely as she thought about everything that was happening. She needed to go home, she needed to yell at him, throw things, cry, drink, and then do some more yelling. So she took a deep breath, grabbed her coat, bag and the file, and made her way out of her office, meeting no ones eye as she walked through the lobby, and then outside and into her motorcade.
Back at home, Henry was sat on the couch, in a mind of his own. He was so glad he no longer had to lie to his wife, that they could finally talk about his day, and she could stop feeling so guilty for thinking hes cheating, and he can stop hating himself for lieing to her.
the bang of the front door shutting pulled him from his thoughts, the soft sound of slow walking heels hitting the floor, along with a bag and a coat, and he stood and met her in the hall way. She'd been crying. Her eyes were puffy, her cheeks were red, and she was angry, at him, the look in her eyes said it all.
"Babe?" Henry said, and she looked at him, anger, hurt, and betrayal written all over her face, and his eyes went to the file in her hand.
"Babe? Are you okay?" Henry asked her, walking towards her but she held a hand out and backed a step.
"Don't come near me." Elizabeth spat at him, and he stopped.
"Elizabeth, whats wrong?" Henry asked her.
"You're a liar, that's what wrong." Elizabeth said to him,and walked into the kitchen and Henry didn't know what to think. What the hell was in that file? Following her, he gently touched her wrist to stop her from walking and she yanked away from his touch.
"Don't you dare-" Elizabeth began to yell, when the kids came down the stairs.
"You guys okay?" Stevie asked.
"Stevie will you please take ali and Jason out for dinner." Henry said.
"I thought we were all making dinner tonight?" Ali asked.
"Stevie, please." Henry said, and the look his eye told her it was serious, and she nodded, grabbing her keys, and henry waited until he heard the door shut.
"What the hell is going on?" Henry asked her, and she looked at him with tears down her face.
"You tell me." She said, pushing the file against his chest and heading upstairs. Opening the file, Henry's heart dropped. No. He thought to himself, These pictures look so suspicious. He said to himself, and he shook his head. There was pictures from every meeting he and his handler had in the last three weeks. From meetings in coffee shops, to just walks in Georgetown and she gave him new information, there was a picture of her grabbing his hand, he didn't even remember that. Henry quickly grabbed the pictures and ran up the stairs, finding Elizabeth throwing his clothes into a suitcase, tears falling down her face, and as he entered the bedroom she looked at him.
"Elizabeth-" He said, his voice small, because he couldn't stand how much pain he had caused the woman he loves by not being able to tell her the truth.
"How could you?" She asked him, her voice filled with anger and hurt.
"Please, listen to me." Henry said to her, his voice soft, and she looked at him.
"What could you possibly say? I asked you! Weeks ago I asked you if you were having an affair and you lied straight to my face." Elizabeth said to him, and he closed his eyes.
"I didn't lie." Henry told her, and she laughed, with a sob that he caught, and his heart broke. But it was clear she ignored what he said.
"How long?" Elizabeth asked him, and he shook his head "How long have you been sleeping with another woman?" Elizabeth asked him again, anger brewing in her voice.
"Elizabeth, I'm not sleeping with another woman! I'm not having an affair!" Henry told her, and she ran her hands through her hair, before wiping her cheeks and taking a deep breath, and swallowed her words when his phone rang.
"Is that her?" She asked, and Henry didn't look at her. "Answer it." Elizabeth told him, but he ignored the call. His handler can wait, and when he looked up he found his wife pacing the floor.
"Elizabeth, please. I need you to listen to me." Henry asked of her, and she laughed.
"Why? So you can tell me some lies?" She asked, her voice hallow and broke.
"I'm not, have not, and will never, cheat on you Elizabeth." Henry told her, his voice serious, and soft, and she looked at her husband, fresh tears falling from her eye, watching as he walked closer to her, she wanted nothing more than to believe him, but he wont tell her who she is, and the pictures, they tell another story, and so she held a hand up, stopping him from walking any closer, and she met his eyes.
"Then who is she?" She asked him, and his silence proved her point. "If you're having an affair just tell me." Elizabeth said to him, defeated. "It's been running around my brain for almost a month, you're sneaking off in the mornings, or you're getting home later, you keep taking calls into other rooms. Just... tell me."
"I can't." He said quietly, and Elizabeth didn't know what to make of that comment.
"Can't or wont?" Elizabeth snapped, and they stood in silence for what felt like years, before his phone rang once again, he looked at it and saw his handlers name popup, and once it stopped ringing he saw two messages.
'Op goes deeper than we thought, the asset is in the interrogation room. We need you here.' Is what one read, from Sarah.
'We have this son in our custody, but its no use. He'll only speak to you. Call me back. ASAP.' Is what the other one said, again, from Sarah, and Henry sighed, worry written all over his face, along with stress, and Elizabeth thought she was going to actually throw up.
"Go. I know its her, so just go, if that's were you'd rather be then leave." Elizabeth said to him, and he looked at her.
"I'm staying, because I need you to believe me." Henry told her, but Elizabeth disregarded his words.
"I always thought you'd be the one person who'd never hurt me... turns out you're the one that hurt me the most." Elizabeth told him ,meeting his eye, before walking out of the bedroom, Henry following behind.
"Elizabeth..." Henry said, and she stopped walking when she reached the kitchen, and turned the face him.
"What? I don't want any more lies, Henry. Just tell me the truth or get out." Elizabeth told him.
"I cant tell you!" Henry said to her, and she shook her head, upset, hurt and stress all piling onto her.
"Why the hell not?!" Elizabeth shouted.
"Because I- I can't." Henry said, his voice softer, yet interrupted by yet another call.
"Will you just answer the damn phone and tell your mistress you'll see her soon. Because you're leaving." Elizabeth told him, powerfully, and walked back up the stairs.
"What." Henry snapped as he answered the phone.
"Hello to you to, Dr McCord. Did you get my messages? We need you here." Sarah told him.
"I cant right now," Henry said.
"Why?" His handler asked.
"I just... I cant." Henry told her.
"If this is about your wife then tell her, I give you permission to declassify the case to the secretary, but you need to get here!" She yelled, and the phone went dead, and Henry ran up the stairs, once again met with Elizabeth as he threw is clothes into a bag.
"I'll let you tell the kids that your a massive cheater." Elizabeth said to him, and he walked towards her, grabbing her arms gently, and making her look at him.
"Let go of me." She told him, not meeting his eyes.
"Let me explain." Henry asked, and she met his eyes, and he saw all the hurt he'd caused and he hated himself.
"What could you possibly say to make this better?" Elizabeth said to him, her arms relaxing in his gentle hold.
"I'm not having an affair." Henry told her.
"You've said that, I don't believe you, I did, until you couldn't tell me why your walking around and holding hands and going on lunch dates with another woman, for the last five months." Elizabeth said him.
"I'm working for the NSA." He told her truthfully, and she released a breath, looking at him, her legs almost giving out in relief.
"What?" She asked, unsure of how to feel.
"I'm working for the NSA, the woman in the photo is my handler." Henry told her, letting go of her arms.
"Your handler?" Elizabeth asked, and he nodded, holding up the message he got before about their asset being in the interrogation, and she looked back at her husband.
"The NSA?" Elizabeth asked, and he nodded, and he watched as relief filled her features.
"I'm so sorry for keeping it from you but I wasn't allowed to talk about it, and then you thought I was having an affair and I'm just... I'm sorry." Henry told her.
"I'm sorry too. I should have trusted you. I should have believed you." Elizabeth said, but Henry shook his head.
"I would have thought the same if the situation was reversed." Henry told her, and Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her husband, her head rested into his neck, and he wrapped himself around her, holding her close, and she closed her eyes, and as they parted he kissed her, cupping her face softy, and then she rested her forehead on his.
"I love you." She told him.
"I love you too, always." Henry told her, and kissed her lips again.
She knew then that she trusted him with her whole heart, and that if anything was to come between them, they'd fight through it together. And that this whole situation has made them that little bit stronger, because there bond is one that can not be broken.