14. February 2018

When Will came home after the show he found Mac in Charlotte's room, sitting by her bed and watching over the sprawled out figure of their little girl. She didn't seem to have heard him come in, so he quietly leaned against the door frame to watch the two women he loved most in his life.

Charlie, who had just turned five a few weeks ago, was sleeping peacefully, her face calm, cheeks rosy and Mr. Snuggle, her beloved teddy bear, tightly in her arms. For a long time Will had been convinced that he would never have a child, and even after Mac and he had reconciled they hadn't known if they would be blessed like this, seeing their age and the time they had waisted.

When Mac had told him that she was pregnant he had been ecstatic, and only Mac's calm had prevented him from becoming an absolute helicopter parent. He still had the tendency to be overprotective, but that was a trait resulting from his past and would probably never completely disappear.

Today though he wasn't surprised about Mac's need to check in on their daughter, and he could tell from her posture that she wasn't completely relaxed; no wonder after his day, and he was feeling exactly the same.

With a soft sigh to alert her of his presence he stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders. Mac didn't startle but immediately leaned back and lifted her hands to cover his and murmered „Look at her... She's so innocent and doesn't have any idea about the dangers that are all around us."

„I know... I've been thinking about her all day, since..." Will pressed a kiss into Mac's hair. „We shouldn't wake her up, let's go..."

„Yeah..." Mac sighed and let go off his hands to get up. Adjusting Charlie's blanket she leaned down to kiss her temple. When she stepped away Will followed suit, not without whispering "I love you, my little Sunshine" into his daughter's ear. Quietly leaving her room he left the door ajar and joined Mac in the kitchen, who was getting a bottle of wine out of the fridge. „Are you hungry?"

Will stepped up to her and let his arms slide around her waist. „No thanks. Just... come here for a moment."

Putting the wine down his wife turned around and pressed herself into his chest. For a moment neither one said anything and they drew comfort out of each other, but then Mac moved away and handed him the bottle. Picking up a couple of wine glasses she moved towards the couch. „Let's sit down, I need a drink."

Again Will followed and filled the glasses before joining her on the couch and putting his arm around her shoulders. After they both had taken a few sips Mac interrupted the silence. „I'm sorry we had to cancel our plans for tonight, but you had to be on the air."

They had planned an intimate Valentine's dinner out, followed by a romantic night at home, while Charlotte was supposed to have a sleepover at Leona's place. Washington had been scheduled to take over for the night, but the events of the day had changed everything.

„It's fine. I'm glad we didn't go out today; I much prefer to be home with my two girls and know you are safe."

„We are, Billy, don't worry." Mac leaned up to press a kiss to his chin. „I've only seen the beginning of your show, how did it go?"

„Terrible," Will grumbled. „It's always the same questions and the same answers; we could just as well pull the tapes from the last shooting and nobody would notice if the town and the number of victims isn't mentioned. Did Charlie hear anything?"

„No" Mac sighed. „Luckily she and Sarah were already home when it happened."

„Good."

They remained silent again for a moment, only drinking a little more wine while contemplating the events of the day, but finally Will couldn't hold back anymore."I just don't understand it, Mac. Why does it always have to be black and white, nothing in between? I mean, I am a Republican and I don't want to get rid of the second amendment. A handgun for self-defense, maybe a hunting rifle, okay, but who needs a fucking assault rifle? Semi-automatic weapons? Bump stocks? They are still not banned, did you know that? Although all parties had agreed on it after Vegas. There is so much in between they can do... Tougher background checks, no assault weapons in private hands, and how the fuck can a 19 year old buy one of those when he is not even old enough to drink?"

„I know..." Putting her glass onto the table Mac cuddled closer and rested her hand on his chest. „What is Washington saying this time?"

Will let out a disparaging snort. „What do you think? Everybody focuses on the mental health of the shooter... Senator Rubio reflexively said that gun laws wouldn't have prevented Parkland, Senator Cruz accuses the democrats of politicizing the tragedy while Paul Ryan said this is not the time to jump to conclusions and the shooting shouldn't threaten the right to own guns. Where have I heard that before?"

Mac shook her head. „If the shooter had been a Muslim - What do you want to bet that the GOP would call for even stricter immigration laws right now? No politicizing my arse!"

Letting out a cycnical laugh Will emptied his glass and leaned forward to place it next to Mac's and then covered her hand that still lay on his chest. „No thank you, I could throw my money out of the window just the same."

„Hmm..." Then her journalistic instinct kicked in. „If it really is a mental health issue we need to look at Trump's actions again; he revoked Obama's regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to buy a gun when he had barely been in office."

„I know, Jim's on it." Suddenly Will laughed. „You know how they always say that 'now is not the time' to talk about consequenes? I don't know, but this time it feels different. This time the victims and their families are vehemently demanding action and are calling out the politicians. Some of these kids have given heartbreaking, amazing statements... Maybe this time something will happen..."

„We can only hope... And do everything to further raise awareness. I mean, about 80% of voters want stricter gun regulation, we just have to get them to make it part of their voting decision."

„I promise you, I'll try..." Will swallowed hard. „I can't even imagine what the families of the dead are feeling right now. If anything like this ever happened to you or Charlie... I'd run amok, I can tell you that." Pressing a kiss to the top of Mac's head he pulled her even tighter. „Despite of everything, can I still say: Happy Valentine's Day, Honey?"

Mac hummed into his chest. „Of course... For us life goes on, doesn't it?