No Love Without Sacrifice
Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weakness. Elizabeth McCord didn't take things for granted. Especially not when it came to her family and her new job as Secretary of State. But sometimes she felt as if she was dropping the ball in what was meant to be the most important thing her life.
Love, love Madam Secretary and how amazing is the acting I mean, come on, also, can I please have a husband like Henry please?
I own nothing but what you might not recognize, this is just for fun regaerdig my new favorite show.
Chapter 1:
Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.
Ann Landers
Elizabeth woke up to the sound of indistinct chatter in the kitchen. Henry was probably making pancakes because she could almost smell the dough being battered and the girls setting up the table. She wondered why they hadn't come to wake her but then she remembered it was Saturday and they were letting her sleep in because that didn't come easy for her these days and it was a gift she was going to accept. She tried closing her eyes once more but the banter downstairs was calling for her to join Henry and the kids so she put on a robe and marched her way downstairs.
True fo their sacrated ritual on weeekends, Henry was making breakfast while the kids got candid on a discussion. "Oh hey mom."
"Sorry babe, did we wake you?" Henry asked as he kissed her softly on the lips.
"It was probably Jason because he can't keep his mouth shut." Alison said as Jason retored something at her.
"No, it wasn't you guys, I guess I just couldn't sleep anymore." Elizabeth admitted. "Anyway, guess what Noodle? I'll be able to go to your game after all..."
"At least for now." Jason said. "Unless the country starts burning or something..."
"Oh, nice... very nice buddy." Henry brushed Jason's hair as they continued with the task of making breakfast.
"No, seriously, unless I am called in, which I am praying I am not, I'll be there..."
"Want to bet?" Stevie muttered over her cup of coffee.
"I do, Fred still owes me 20 bucks for the last bet..." Jason piped in. Elizabeth shot him a look but Alison was quiet, she really didn't want to jinx it and having her mom missing the game. It was almost a rare happening these days.
There was a sudden thud coming from the living room and it was when Elizabeth heard the sound of cartoons coming from the other room. She heard the small steps of another person coming her way.
"Oh that's right I'd forgotten we had another child..." Elizabeth glanced at Henry with a grin.
"But mommy, I'm your favorite!" A little girl came rushing into the kitchen, hugging her mother. almost knocking the air out of her.
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that" Jason joked which earned a look from his little sister.
"Stop, no one is anyone's favorite..." Henry said raising his hands in defense, hoping to avoid an angurment. "Now, let's have breakfast alright."
"Yes, lets..." Elizabeth added in as she led her children to the table.
Her four children.
She couldn't understand how this had happened. I mean she understood the dinamycs of it all of course, she had gone trough this before. But she couldn't believe this was actually happening. She was the mother of a teenager and two young other ones. But she was in no way prepared for this to happen.
She was terrifed about it actually.
Oh god and now she had to tell Henry. She had avoided him all day at the University, and he sensed something was going on.
"What's wrong?" Her always intuitive husband asked. Elizabeth stared at him for a moment. Frustration all over her face, her hand on the side of her face. Sudden realization hit Henry.
"I''m not dying Henry..." She said quickly. He didn't relax though.
"Oh, you are not? Good thanks for telling me..." He huffed sacastically. "What is it that you are not telling me?" Elizabeth sighed, standing up to grab her purse from the chair besides her husband. He gave her an inquiring look.
"Remember I told you I might have caught on whatever Jason had last week?" Henry nodded. Relieved of the fact she couldn't have anything worse than a stomach bug. "At first I thought that was it, then I opted for menopause." She laughed a little to herself. "Because of course, this had to be, or otherwise..."
"Wait, what?" Henry glanced at the box his wife was holding.
"I haven't taken it. God, I don't think I even remember how to... But I was so scared of doing it without you..." She admitted, a certain vulnerability showing in her voice, one that was apparently mostly saved for him. "So, let's just do this so I know I am not losing my mind" It wasn't a question.
Henry was speechless as he followed her to the bathroom.
A moment later they were waiting for the results, Henry making some remark about how those small tests had changed so much in so little time since they had had Jason.
"Well it is almost 2010 babe."
"it is." He agreed. There was a moment of silence between them. "God, do you realize it's been 20 years since we got married?"
"We are old..." Elizabeth bantered on. "Too old to be having a baby..."
"Well, you are not that old..." Henry smiled.
"Shut up, that isn't helping..." She hit his arm softly as she sat across from him on the tub.
Henry's phone buzzed.
It was time.
"Hey." He said softly touching her arm. "Whatever happens, we'll figure it out, okay?"
"Okay"
Elizabeth had insisted on going to Alison's game like she had times before, and it was up to Fred to make sure everything ran smootly in such a public place. It was weird really but was one of those rare ocassions that Stevie and Jason had agreed to come too. Since moving to DC it was something she had comitted the children in doing, at least one thing together every week or she'd barely see her kids.
"Mama look!" The youngest of the clan piped in as Alison stopped another goal. She and Henry cheered on as Alison turned around to give them a thumbs up. Suddenly Bess's phone buzzed.. Henry turned to look at her.
"Babe, what is it?" Henry asked. He didn't need to, though, he knew exactly what it was.
She didn't pick up the phone so it must have been a text or something, because next thing he knew, Fred was calling for Elizabeth.
"Oh, okay baby, I have to go..." She told her four year old. She looked up from the sitting positon on her lap, her eyes were fixed on hers. "Go and sit with daddy okay?"
She did as she was told but Elizabeth knew her child was upset, because she didn't even answer her, instead she moved to sit on Henry's lap.
"Tell her I had to go." She told her husband. He nodded and kissed her. She brushed her daugther's cheek softly before kissing her other girls and Jason goodbye.
Mama had to go to work. And somtimes, in moments like these, it broke her heart.
She had come home late. Later than she anticipated because all the kids seemed to be in bed already. She poured herself some cereal in a bowl and made her way upstairs. She didn't want to be alone after a day like today, what had seemed to start like a happpy one, for the books really, turned into one sadistic bloodbath in which she had been in the middle of.
She came into the room to find Hannah, cuddled agaisnt Henry's chest, sound asleep as he read a book. "Hey." He said softly.
"Hi." She took a spoonful of her cereal as she watched her child sleep. "Was she mad?"
Henry sighed. "Nothing a little pizza couldn't fix.." He smiled at her. "Ali's team won, so it was a double victory..."
"And I missed it.." She said tiredly.
"Babe, it's fine... the kids understand..." He said.
"Do they?" She glanced at the little girl. "Sometimes I wish they didn't and they would just yell at me." She moved to set the bowl over at the dresser and moved to the bathroom to change, she came out a moment later.
"She wanted to wait up for you but..." Henry explained. "She wanted to say sorry for ignoring you right before you left. I guess she was in worse shape because she didn't say goodye to you, so she..."
"Mommy?"
"Hey munchin'..." Bess touched the girl's cheek softly. "Sorry if we woke you, go back to sleep, alright?"
"No mama, I'm sorry..." She opened her eyes wider but the exhaustion was evident in her face and tone.
"What for? I was the one to bail at the game..."
"You had to go and help people, your job is important..." The little girl said, glancing up at Henry who smiled at her, brushing her head with his finger.
"Yes, but not as important as daddy or you kids," She kissed her child's forehead.
"Kay, I love you mommy..." That was all it took as she began closing her eyes once more.
"I love you too baby..."
"The things that we love tell us what we are."
Thomas Aquinas
So? So sorry if this sucked, I am just obssesed with Elizabeth and Henry! Please let me know what you thought about it... More on Hannah coming on next chapter!