A/N: Each chapter of this fic will be from the perspective of one family member, plus one or two dealing with the State Department/White House. This one is Elizabeth's chapter. Thanks for reading! Any reviews/comments are greatly appreciated. Special thanks/shout-out to YM (queen-bess-mccord) for encouraging me to write this!

Enjoy!

"How is it already December?" Elizabeth asked her husband. "The kids haven't even given us their Christmas lists yet."

"I don't know… I think we're all still recovering from the election and the cyber attacks." Henry replied, brushing his teeth. "Time has been altered."

She finished putting on her PJs and plopped down on the end of their bed. He was right, she thought. The last few months had been really hectic on all fronts. And with the results of the election on top of that… she was ready for a break from the outside world.

"Do you ever want to just drop everything and go live in a cave in the middle of nowhere?" she asked.

"Yeah, every day," Henry joked, pointing his toothbrush at her. "There's a listing online for a 2 bedroom cave in the Adirondacks for only $400,000, utilities included. How does that sound?"

Elizabeth could help but burst out laughing. He always knew how to make her laugh at times like this.

"Yeah, ok!" she replied.

Henry sat down next to her and started rubbing her back. "I'll call the realtor in the morning then."

Elizabeth sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, comforted by his presence.

"Do you remember what you got me for our first Christmas after we got married?" Elizabeth asked.

Henry giggled. "Oh god, those hideous L.L. Bean Eskimo boots!"

"They were NOT hideous! I really did love them… I wish I still had them." Elizabeth murmured between her laughs.

"What are you two laughing about?" Jason asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

"Oh nothing, Jace," Henry said. "What's up?"

He handed them a highly adorned certificate. "So this happened today…"

The certificate read "Congratulations to Jason McCord for winning First Place in the 5th Annual Winter Essay Contest".

"Wow, Jace, this is amazing!" Henry exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you!

Elizabeth echoed his praise and added, "What did you write about?"

Jason blushed, and handed her a copy of the essay. "See for yourself…"

" 'The most inspirational person in my life is my mom, with my dad coming in at a close second. Let me explain why…' " Elizabeth read out loud, tearing up in the process. She was so touched by the gesture. "Oh Jason…"

She stood up and gave him a big hug, despite his obvious embarrassment.

That night, she went to bed the happiest woman alive.

"Good morning, Ma'am," Blake said when Elizabeth answered the door.

"Blake, please tell me you're not here on business… wait, why are you wearing jeans?" she asked, puzzled. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear jeans before…"

"No, Ma'am." Blake stepped aside and pointed to Jay, Matt, and Daisy wrangling a large Christmas tree from the back of a truck. "We're here to drop that off. Henry called early this morning. He wanted to surprise you and the kids."

Elizabeth couldn't believe her eyes. "Wow, Blake, that's so…"

"Good morning, Ma'am! Where would you like it?" Jay announced.

Unbeknownst to her, Henry was sneaking behind her and setting up the tree stand.

"In here," Henry shouted from the living room.

Elizabeth stepped aside and directed them to the spot.

"Mom, what's going on?" Alison asked sleepily as she walked down the stairs. Her eyes lit up when she saw the tree.

"Wow mom, it's beautiful!" Alison exclaimed.

"It is, isn't it?" Elizabeth replied. She turned to her staff and said, "Thank you so much, guys."

"No problem ma'am," Blake replied.

"Would you guys like some coffee?" Henry asked.

"We also have some pastries if you're hungry," Elizabeth added.

A chorus of yes's ensued, so everyone migrated to the kitchen.

Elizabeth enjoyed sitting down with her staff members and talking to them in a non-work setting. She realized that despite working with them for a few years, she didn't really know them that well.

Later that day, after digging out the decorations from the attic, Elizabeth, Alison, and Stevie started decorating the tree. To keep up a family tradition of theirs, Henry and Jason went to pick up a pizza.

"Have you decided what you're getting dad this year?" Stevie asked.

Elizabeth chuckled. "I actually have a good idea. I've been thinking about giving him the same gifts that I gave him for our first Christmas as a married couple."

"Aww that's so sweet mom." Alison smiled. "What did you get him?"

"Moon shoes, a David Bowie CD, a sled, and some candy." Elizabeth grinned, remembering how much he loved the gifts back then.

"Nice!" Stevie approved.

"God, how do we even still have these?" Alison asked, pulling a long dusty line of retro bubble lights from a box. "They look like they've been around since the dawn of time!"

Stevie and Elizabeth laughed.

"Hey! Those were all the rage when I was a kid!" Elizabeth scoffed. "My parents loved them so much…"

A bittersweet smile grew on her face. "Plug 'em in! Let's see if they still work!"

She did her best to brush off the sadness she felt every year around the holidays since her parents passed away.

The lights did, in fact, still work when Alison plugged them in. They decided to use them, despite the fact that a ladder was necessary to reach the top of the tree.

By the time the got all the lights on the the tree, and had the popcorn popping for the garland, Henry and Jason got back with the pizza.

"Man, traffic was murder!" Henry said. "It's like everyone else had the same idea."

"That's okay! You got back at the perfect time. The lights are up and the popcorn is cooling." Elizabeth explained. "Let's eat!"

After they ate, they made the garland, hung it, and put on their favorite ornaments. They blasted Christmas music and told stories of Christmases past. They even had a silly-string fight.

It was undeniably one of the best days that Elizabeth had in a long time. For once in her life since she became Secretary of State, she had a whole day without any interruptions from her job. She longed to have more of those days, especially if it meant that she could spend it with her family.