Just two short weeks after their anniversary fiasco, Elizabeth and her staff were to embark on a goodwill tour of several allies in Europe. When she had announced the trip over dinner one night, Henry immediately got an idea.
On the eight hour plane ride to Paris, Elizabeth and her staff sat comfortably in the common area of the plane and went over her speech and itinerary for upcoming day. Once all the business had been taken care of the staff began talking amongst themselves about the various sights they wanted to visit during their freetime.
"Any place you want to go m'am?" Jay asked, noticing she was deep in thought as she fingered her wedding ring, not paying attention to the conversation around her. "Madam Secretary?"
"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, snapping out of her thoughts
"We were all just talking about visiting the Louvre. Was there any place you wanted to visit while we're her in Paris?" Jay repeated
She shrugged her shoulders. "Where wouldn't I want to go? Everywhere in Paris is incredible." She said softly, still clearly deep in thought.
Nadine looked at her boss and new friend, wondering what was going on in her mind and tried to lighten the mood by poking fun at Matt & Daisy. "Daisy has never been to Paris. Matt, are you finally going to sweep her off her feet?"
Elizabeth smirked slightly before Matt began to speak. "No way, are you kidding? Paris is way to cliché? I mean anyone can fall in love in Paris."
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Be still my heart."
"Matt, don't knock Paris." Elizabeth finally spoke. "Cliché or not, falling in love in Paris is just…" she paused searching for the correct word. "Timeless."
"You sound as though you speak from experience." Jay commented.
Elizabeth nodded, almost staring off into space.
"Tell us about it." Nadine pushed her new found close friend.
She looked at the rapidly forming puppy dog eyes around her. She wasn't sure if she should tell them, but decided she would. "Alright. But fair warning, it's very sappy."
"I love sappy!" Daisy exclaimed.
"Of course you do." Matt countered
"Matt!" Nadine scolded
"Well, I was spending the summer in Paris studying abroad at Sorbonne. I came to get away from my parents, and I had no intention of falling in love, believe me." She scoffed before voice lulled, "But on a chilly day my first week of class-"
"Oh my god, is this how you met Dr. McCord. Isn't it?" Blake gushed.
Nadine & Daisy glared at him too.
"Sorry. But it would be so unfortunate if she fell in love with someone other than her husband in Paris." Blake continued.
"Well Blake if you would stop interrupting," Elizabeth began. "As I was saying, it was my first week of class and I was sitting at this coffee shop studying…"
On a cloudy, unseasonably chilly Saturday afternoon in May, Elizabeth sat outdoors at a picturesque Parisian café on the left bank. Her map, notes, and an open book were scattered about the small bistro table as she took in the scenery and attempted to study for her upcoming French history test.
Her oversized sweater fell off one shoulder as she lifted a large white cup filled with coffee to her lips. The wind picked up a bit, blowing her long, straight blonde locks astray. She didn't seem to care and went back to her reading. Another wind gust swept through and with it went one of her handwritten sheets of notebook paper. "Shit." She muttered, trying to secure the rest of her notes she'd spent all afternoon writing beneath her coffee cup. She quickly rose to ago and retrieve the stray paper, and bumped right into the strong chest of US Marine Captain Henry McCord.
"Excuse moi." They both said at the same time. Their gaze had locked they stared at each other for a moment before she looked away and reluctantly removed her hands that had somehow been resting on his chest, and tucked her hair behind her ears.
Despite being taken aback at the instant attraction, they did notice each other's heavy American accent, and he spoke his next words in English. "I believe this is yours?" he offered, holding up her notes.
"Yes, thank you," she replied, tucking the paper beneath her latte with the other pages.
It was clear they were both instantly smitten with each other and unsure of what to say next so they just smiled. He continued to hold her gaze, unable to look away from her sparkling blue eyes, when nature stepped in to help them along. It started pouring rain and they rushed to the coffee shop door.
"Would you like a refill?" Henry asked, holding her coffee mug he picked up from the table outside as she tossed her bag on a chair, attempting to fluff her now slightly damp hair.
"I'd love one." She smiled back, finding her voice, happy he had broken the ice.
"Great," He said before sitting across from her at the table. "I'm Henry, by the way."
She laughed that they had forgotten to mention their own names until now. "Elizabeth." She replied, shaking his hand.
"We spent next 3 hours talking about anything and everything. Then he walked me home and we made out on my porch and we found ourselves in this whirlwind summer romance right out of a movie." She explained to her staff, watching their reactions as Jay, Nadine & Daisy turned into a pile of mush before her eyes.
"Your husband is making me look bad." Matt said, rolling his eyes. He was impressed, but didn't want to show it.
"Oh my gosh, hush. Tell us more." Blake said, getting giddy.
Elizabeth laughed at Blakes' enthusiasm and continued. "The entire summer we were inseparable, as I said. We did everything you would ever think to do in Paris; monuments, museums, evening walks, romantic dinners, afternoon picnics, the 100 best places to kiss – we did all 100 by the way-"
"Whoa? The 100 best places to kiss in Paris?" Matt mocked, interrupting.
"It's a book, look it up." Elizabeth explained, "But as I was saying, the summer ended way to fast and we were both brought back to reality when Desert Storm began and the fact that Henry would most likely be going. Then, just before I left for the fall semester stateside…."
"Let's take a walk." Henry whispered to Elizabeth after they shared a romantic dinner at an upscale bistro. Elizabeth was dressed in a royal blue crepe strapless dress and Henry in his best suit. He draped his suit jacket over her bare shoulders and they began to walk arm and arm towards the Seine.
"I can't believe it's our last Saturday night in Paris together." She sighed.
"Me either." He whispered, kissing her cheek as they walked, letting the sounds of the Parisian streets lull them into their own thoughts as they enjoyed one of their last evening walks.
"It's been an incredible summer." She interrupted the silence. "I never expected to meet you Henry. Or fall in love with you here. But I'm so glad I did."
He smiled and pulled her closer, giving her a quick kiss as they walked. "My sentiments exactly."
They soon ended up on the Pont des Arts just as the sun began to set and the sky was a brilliant shade of pink and purple. Elizabeth noticed the small, but growing collection of 'love locks' that had been secured on the railings. "I remember reading about this place." Elizabeth said walking up to the railings. "I think we should go get a lock and put it on here before I go home." She continued.
Henry came up behind her, and produced a lock. "One step ahead of you."
Her eyes lit up and she turned in his arms to kiss him, but he stopped her. "There's something I want to say to you first." He said, taking both of her hands in his after dropping the lock back in his pocket. "As you said, it's been an incredible summer, falling in love and being in love with you."
Elizabeth's eyes sparkled as she smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but he put a finger on her lips. "I'm not done yet…. I can't even remember what my life was like without you in it. And given what happened yesterday in Iraq, I don't know what the future holds. But what I know for sure is I want my future to be with you –"
It was just then that she realized what was happening and her eyes welled with tears. "Henry…."
Holding her left hand he bent down on one knee and continued, pulling a blue tiffany box from his pocket and holding it out to her. "I love you Elizabeth. Will you marry me?"
She nodded as tears fell down her cheeks before she was finally able to speak, "Yes."
Henry let out a sigh of relief and stood up lifting her in his arms and twirling her as they kissed. When they broke apart, he wiped the tears from her cheeks and held out an un-opened tiffany box for her to untie the ribbon. After it was untied he took over, pulling the felt box out and revealing to her a beautiful 2 carat round cut diamond ring with two sapphires surrounding it. He removed the ring from the cushion and took her left hand in his to slide the ring on her finger. It fit perfect. "It's gorgeous." She whispered before leaning up to kiss him again. "Mmm, I love you." She said in between kisses and he repeated her sentiments.
After a few moments, he broke the kiss, putting the ring box back in his pocket and retrieving the lock and handing it to her. "Now we can do the lock." He said
She fingered the gold lock, and noticed he had it engraved. Elizabeth & Henry 1990 until forever
"If you place the lock on the bridge and throw the key into the river, it symbolizes that your love is forever, unbreakable." She explained the legend quietly, "I know our love is the kind that lasts forever." She smiled and held it out to him so they could attach it to the railing together. They choose a spot and secured it and he removed the key. Henry took the key in his hand, and Elizabeth grabbed his hand as he glanced at her once more before tossing the key into the river.
"Wow" Daisy swooned as she listened to her boss share her engagement story. Everyone else just stared at her; they were speechless.
"So why may I ask did Dr. McCord not accompany you on this trip?" Jay asked
Elizabeth shrugged. "Someone has to watch the kids. Besides after our memory lane fiasco in New York, I don't think trying to re-create our past is such a good idea. It was perfect the first time, so it's hard to top."
Nadine nodded, passing along a sympathetic smile to Elizabeth. But inside she smiled, knowing she was in for a surprise.