Author's Note:
I wrote this very short fic some time ago… I wrote it for a fanfic challenge we had in our forum. Today I decided to also post it here and share it with you.
Is not beta-read because I didn't want to bother Martha and Sheila for such a short, pointless, one-shot fic.
I hope you enjoy this….
Disclaimer: I don't own "Commander in Chief"…. But I do own a copy of the original pilot!
It wasn't on the contractShe sat on the bed next to his naked lover; both were feeling very tired and drunk. They had been drinking a lot and having passionate sex for hours. She lifted a post-coital cigarette as he simply looked at her, unsurprised…. They both knew she would start smoking someday. He drank some beer directly from the bottle, wondering why the hell he had stayed sober for 20 years when he felt so much better being drunk. Oh… right. His wife had made him join AA and quit drinking. The woman next to him suddenly took him away from his thoughts and asked…
"So… how is really like to be married to the President of the United States?"
Rod looked, feeling a little confused, at the woman asking him that. Where did that question come from? Why was she asking that know? Despite his confusion, the young woman insisted…
"Oh… come on! Tell me! And don't give me a fake-premeditated answer you would give to a reporter… I want to know how is really like…"
Rod looked directly at the woman's eyes, and asked mockingly…
"Why? Are you planning marrying a President some day?"
The woman laughed with a nice, spontaneous and very open laugh. The kind of laugh he hadn't shared with his wife in a long while.
"I could… you know?"
Now Rod laughed, as he and the woman finished their beers while they both laid casually next to each other in the bed.
"Who?"
The young woman played mysterious and didn't say anything. She simply stood up then walked to the mini-frig they had in the hotel room and look for more alcohol. She picked a few mini-bottles of beer and took them to drink at bed. Tonight, neither she nor Rod felt like having sex. They just wanted to get drunk together and talk. After giving Rod the alcohol, she said…
"Jim could be President some day. What if I marry Jim?"
Rod frowned at the mention of Vice President Jim Gardner. He rolled his eyes and said…
"You won't marry him…"
The woman laughed shaking her head.
"Why not? Is not, like, impossible. And is not like I can marry you"
"But you don't love Jim…"
Rod knew that for sure. Jim and the woman were very good friends, but nothing more. Especially since Jim's heart belonged to Jayne Murray. Rod's mistress simply said…
"So what? Is not like people never marry for reasons other than love"
Rod challenged the woman saying…
"Name some of those reasons"
"Companionship… social status… power… money… security… being the First Spouse."
She winked at him when she said that last part. He laughed and then argued…
"Yes, but… what you are describing is not a marriage… is a contract"
Rod wondered when the woman in front of him had become so cynical. Probably after having her heart broken for like the 20th time. The woman replied…
"All marriages are contacts in a way… even those who are contracts based on a deep love"
"You got a point there…"
"So… answer my question… what is like to be married to the President?"
It sounded like such a simple question at first. But it was actually a very complex one. At first Rod thought it would be so great…. His wife would save the world with him by her side. But that dream feel apart when Jim become Mac's Chief of Staff. That was the beginning of the end for Mac and Rod's marriage. Mac simply stopped needing her husband. Then there was the "Strategic Planning" job, which Rod loved. But that also came to the end. Ironically, it was Rod who ended it. He realized that he was causing Mac more pain that good. And Mac accepted his resignation gladly. Rod was never so hurt. She made to effort whatsoever to keep him by her side. Not like the time he bluffed with leaving her for a "Commissioner of baseball" job. This time Mac didn't care. She just didn't need Rod anymore. And now Rod felt like one of those guys whose job was to carry Cleopatra around in her throne so her feet wouldn't touch the mud. His wife made him feel that way. But he would never tell that to anyone, especially not to Kelly, especially not when they were both several hours passed tired and many beers passed drunk. Rod simply avoided the question and said…
"If you do end up marrying a President it will be different…"
Kelly raised one eyebrow and asked…
"Because I'm a woman?"
"Yes… but also… well, I was used to things working out a lot differently"
"How was it before she became President?"
"She and I were equals… shared everything… we were a team… a real team"
Rod's eyes lighted while he remembered better times. Kelly noticed, and said casually…
"You still love her… don't you?"
She didn't sound sad about it. Rod got a bit uncomfortable. So Kelly assured him…
"Is ok, Rod… I know you are only sleeping with me because The President isn't sleeping with you"
"And you are ok with that?"
"Yeah… I have my fun… and is not like I'm in love with you or anything"
"You are still in love with Dickie?"
Kelly nodded sadly. Then she explained…
"So… I figured…. If you and I are both miserable, we could as well be miserable together"
Rod raised his bottle of beer a little, as in a toast, and said…
"Best idea you ever had"
Kelly clucked. But deep down, she felt sorry for Rod. She knew he had to be very sad and desperate to turn to her for comfort.
"Things were really that bad, were they?"
Rod nodded and then sighed very deeply, melancholically.
"It's just… it wasn't what I signed up for"
Kelly asked confused…
"What?"
Rod explained feeling very frustrated…
"My marriage, it wasn't what I signed up for. When I married Mac… I didn't signed up for this… I didn't signed up for the lack of sex life… for being at her shadow… like an useless object just floating around her"
Kelly simply said…
"Yes, you did"
Rod was stunned.
"What are you talking about? I did not sing up for this…"
Kelly shook her head and argued stubbornly…
"Yes, you did"
Rod didn't understand what Kelly meant. He said, confused…
"When the hell did I sign up for all this? When was I as stupid as to accept the kind of marriage I have now?"
Kelly, drunkenly and using all her patience, explained…
"You promised to love her until death do you apart… when you married her, you pledged allegiance to her forever… there was no clause that allowed you to walk away or cheat on her if she became more powerful, more successful than you or if she stopped needing you or making love to you. So… you got what you signed up for."
Rod laughed in disbelief.
"It looks like you want me to end this affair of us"
"No… I'm just pointing out the facts…"
"and the main fact is that this torrid affair of us is wrong?"
"Exactly"
Rod grinned maliciously and said…
"Ok then… lest be wrong… lest enjoy our wrongness"
"Ok"
They stated making out and the kiss became more passionate with each second… It was so easy, so comfortable, and exactly what they needed at that moment.
Rod really enjoyed being with his mistress. Truth be told, his wife made him feel like one of those guys whose job was to carry Cleopatra around in her throne so her feet wouldn't touch the mud.
And, apparently, that was what he had signed up for… He knew he should have read the fine print.
THE END
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