Hey! The idea for this ficlet collection sparked from a conversation about all the character interactions we haven't really seen. So here you go, looks into various people's lives about Elizabeth's potential presidential run. Pre and post s4, totally non-canon as I've taken some artistic liberties (will feature Nadine, will have mentions of Stareth, not sure about Kat yet). I'm not entirely caught up so everything will be pure speculation and won't lean on actual episodes.

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Stevie comes to a surprising realization

S3

Her mother wasn't a career politician.

Stevie had had to put up with every paper from tabloids to broadsheets screaming so in the months following her mom's nomination as Secretary of State. Russell Jackson had screamed so on the phone or in person in their living room several times after Elizabeth had taken office. She never seemed to mind too much. For the first years, Stevie took a leaf out of her mom's book and brushed it all, the accusations, allegations, and demands, off with a well-rehearsed chuckle.

It was some time after she had gotten her own taste of politics as Russell Jackson's intern that she started to really listen to what people were saying about her mom. Although Stevie spent her days mainly shadowing political heavy-hitters, feeling rather insignificant and practically invisible in comparison, there were perks to going unnoticed by the people she passed on the halls on a daily basis. She was stunned by what she heard and learned to read from her colleagues and bosses. It seemed her mother was a hot topic of conversation just about everywhere. Some of the talk made her seethe while some brought a smile to her face, but all of it gave her a whole new perspective on the person who had been a constant all her life.

To Stevie, her mother had naturally always been a superhero, but the polling numbers – that mattered very little to her mom yet someone else (Russell Jackson) was always reminding her about – quickly suggested that a good part of the nation saw her as nothing short of a miracle worker. It felt weird when her peers first started to think of her mom as such, though Stevie could see where they were coming from. Even after Elizabeth got home from work irritated or exhausted, she carried a lingering air of importance. Stevie had always wondered what her mom was like before she shrugged off the blazer and dove into the ice cream carton. Getting to observe her mom in her work environment allowed Stevie to finally see her the way others did.

She was impressive; there was no other word for it. She held herself tall, carried herself gracefully, and expressed herself heartily. People listened to her.

And then one night, something just clicked in Stevie's mind. The evening had been nothing out of the ordinary: her mom had come home grumbling about the unnecessary legwork required to bypass a certain senator who seemed to have had nothing better to do than to try to undermine everything her department had finalized. Stevie had listened to the rant as she'd prepared a plate for her mom, barely catching herself in time before voicing the quip she'd intended to lighten the mood with. It had been a mere passing thought but enough to give her pause. You could always just fire the guy after you become president, you know.

Stevie realized she had had that feeling for a while already, despite the fact that her mother had denied even the most veiled of implications and stated countless times she wasn't into politics. She knew that no one could make her mom do anything she didn't want to, nor could they make her want it – but her mom was also quite adept at recognizing how she could make a difference in the world. She would have a hard time turning her back on her role, even if she insisted on being onboard only because of Dalton. Stevie had heard him call the peace deal with Iran "their legacy", though. He would no doubt back Elizabeth fully if she decided to want to inherit his office as well.

Stevie knew she was still on her own in entertaining such thoughts, but as she watched her mom breeze through trade agreements on national television, she surmised it was only a matter of time before the public joined her.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! :) This was the shortest of the bunch, but check back in a few days for the next part!