A/N: Not quite sure where this came from. I dreamt this up and thought that it would be kinda fun to play with. When I'm nervous about things I tend to come up with a boatload of ideas, and I am EXTREMELY nervous about this vacation. Anyway, I don't know how long this will be exactly as I never do, but enjoy
Disclaimer: I don't own any unoriginal character to this plot line.
Casey Cabot nee Novak sighs quietly to herself as she stares out the window of the limousine as it continues on its slow crawl through the wet streets of Washington D.C. She shifts a tad bit uncomfortably against the plush leather seats of the car for she hasn't gotten used to them and she still isn't sure if she will ever be used to them. Then again, there's just something about riding around in the limousine in general is something that just bothers her.
"Mommy?" a tiny voice speaks from the other side of the car.
"Yes sweetie?" Casey responds, offering her six year old daughter a smile.
"Do you think that Momma will take me to feed the ducks today?" the six year old asks eagerly, her eyes wide with hopefulness and enthusiasm. "She promised she would."
At this, Casey's heart clenches and she briefly bites down on her lower lip. "I'm not sure Aubrey; you know Momma is very busy."
Aubrey pouts and tightly folds her arms across her chest before lightly kicking the seat of the car. "But she promised…" she whines, alerting her mother to the fact that she is on the verge of a fit.
"I know sweetheart, but Momma just has a lot of work to do. But I'm sure if you ask nicely, she'll be able to make time to take you to feed the ducks and if not, I can take you to feed the ducks. It'll be you, me, and Megan. How does that sound?
"I guess that sounds okay…but Momma said she would take me because I really wanted to go with her. Can I ask her when we get home?
"Of course."
After falling into a comfortable silence with her youngest daughter, Casey goes back to staring out the window of the car. Her mind goes back to an hour or so before to where she and Aubrey had just left a local library where she was reading to a group of children and talking to them about the importance of education. Yet another social appearance she had to make, but if it's for the children, she most definitely doesn't mind in the slightest.
The limo eventually slows to a stop in the circular styled driveway and Casey finds herself sighing once more as the door is opened for her and she is greeted with a plethora of men in black suits, one of which who is holding an umbrella for her.
"You know, I've told you guys before, I'm more than capable of holding an umbrella myself." She jokes lightly as she takes Aubrey's hand and they are guided inside the large, manor of a house that they call a home.
Once inside, Aubrey immediately bursts into a fit of squeals as she spots her favorite person and she takes off across the polished floors. "Abbie!"
"Hey there Roadrunner." Abbie Carmichael, a tall, southern accented brunette responds as she picks the six year old up and spins her around. "Did you have fun at the library today with your Mom?"
"Uh huh! I even made a friend today! Her name was Lizabeth and we even got to make best friend bracelets after Mommy read us a story." Aubrey pauses as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a beaded bracelet. "Look, I made one for you!"
Abbie grins broadly and accepts the gift from her pint sized friend. "Well that's very sweet of you Aubrey."
"You have to wear it all the time okay? Promise?"
"I promise."
"Pinkie promise?" Aubrey presses on, raising her eyebrows as she holds out her pinkie finger.
"Pinkie promise." Abbie replies with a chuckle as she links her pinkie with Aubrey's and they shake on it before she puts the six year old back down on the floor.
Aubrey looks up with expectancy as she clasps her hands behind her back. "Abbie, can I see it again?"
Abbie pretends to think for a moment as she taps her finger against her chin. "I don't know. Have you been a good girl?"
"Oh yes, I've been very good! Pleeeeeease? Pretty please?" the tiny blonde begs as she clasps her hands together once again.
"Oh alright." Abbie relents as she removes Aubrey's desired object from her belt. She watches in amusement as she hands over her badge, drawing an 'ooo' from excitement from the six year old as she runs her fingers over the gold plated badge.
With another chuckle, Abbie shakes her head as she walks over to Casey who had been standing off to the side, watching the pair with amusement etched across her face. "She really likes playing with that."
"You spoil her." Casey responds as she shakes her head. "You know, she really does idolize you Abbie. You're her role model."
"Well, you couldn't have asked for a better role model for your kid then huh?" the brunette responds with a smirk.
Casey rolls her eyes and shakes her head once again. "Yeah. If my six year old grows up and tells me she's joining the secret service for a living then I'll know exactly who to blame."
Abbie grins at this and glances back over at Aubrey who is still transfixed by her special agent badge. "Then that's a blame that I will gladly take." She states proudly, puffing out her chest before turning seriously. "Did you enjoy the event at the library?"
"I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, to be completely honest. It's just always so nice to be able to give back to the kids like that. They all got to listen to a few stories and do arts and crafts before they all got to select a free book. It was such a cute little function and I'm glad I could be part of it."
"Look at you, making dreams come true for little kids. I know as a little kid I would've loved to have my picture with the First Lady."
Casey rolls her eyes and gives her friend a light smack to the shoulder for her sense of humor. "Speaking of which, have you seen her at all today?" she asks, not really needing to go into specifics because she knows Abbie knows exactly who she's talking about.
A brief look crosses Abbie's face for a moment before she gives an honest shrug. "I'm not entirely sure, but I'm willing to put my money in and say that she hasn't been out of her office at all."
"You know there are often times that I forget what my own wife looks like." Casey responds with a heavy sigh as she shakes her head and glances over at her daughter once again. "She promised that she would take Aubrey to feed the ducks today. I just hate it whenever she breaks a promise like that. Take us there?"
"You bet." Abbie responds with a nod as she spins on her heel and starts off down the hall, picking Aubrey up and placing her on her shoulders in the process. "C'mon Roadrunner, let's go see your Momma."
Meanwhile, President Alexandra Cabot is hunched over her desk as her eyes rapidly fly over the words on the stacks of papers that litter her desk. She sighs quietly as she reaches the bottom of another page before she scribbles her signature on it and moves onto the next once.
In all honesty, she can't exactly remember the last time that she has even looked at a clock for the time, let alone even looked up at all for anything. She briefly sneaks a glance at her watch before turning back to her papers, not really bothering to even comprehend the time at all.
"Momma!"
The silence in her office is broken by a squeal and Alex drops her pen only to be met with the pitter-patter of her daughter's feet as they run over to her desk. She manages a tired grin as she moves her chair away from her desk and allows for the six year old to climb into her lap. "Hi sweetheart. Did you have fun with Mommy today?"
"Yes Ma'am, we got to read books and do crafts!" Aubrey exclaims before she remembers her set task at hand and her face turns serious. "Momma, will you be able to take me to feed the ducks today?"
Alex's heart stops for a brief moment before she closes her eyes and sighs quietly. Was that supposed to be today? She could've sworn she said Friday, but wait…what day is it? "Aubrey, I would really like to take you to feed the ducks today, but I can't sweetie. I have a lot of work I need to do." she explains softly as she glances at her wife. "Maybe you can go with Mommy instead?"
"But Momma, I wanna go with you! You promised!" Aubrey replies with sad, wide blue eyes as they begin to become damp with tears.
"I know honey, but I have to work…maybe some other time?"
"That's what you said the last time." Aubrey sniffles as she wiggles from her mother's grip and climbs down from her lap before running out of the office.
Casey's heart clenches as she watches Aubrey run out and she can hear the tears once she gets into the hallway. A small frown crosses her features before she turns back to her wife. "Seriously Alex? How many times are you going to break that promise to her?"
The blonde drags her fingers through her hair as she stands up and walks around to the front of her desk before leaning against the edge. "I don't have time Casey, you know that! Why can't you take her to feed the ducks?"
"Because she wants you to take her, that's why. You are her mother and she wants to spend time with you and the same goes for Megan too. Why can't you seem to make time for your kids? It's like you don't even spend time with them anymore."
"I spend time with them when I have time to spend with them Casey. It's not like I've been neglecting them."
"Sure seems like it." The redhead responds as she folds her arms and shakes her head, her voice going down to a calm sadness. "You know, you haven't come to bed in a week. I miss you…"
Alex sighs quietly and wraps her arms around her wife's waist before pulling her in closer. "I know…I just have so much work to do Baby, I don't have time for anything else."
"I know…you can't even spare a minute for your wife and kids…"
"Casey, don't talk like that."
"Talk like what? Don't talk like it's true!?" Casey exclaims as she rips herself from her wife's embrace and begins to pace. "I'm so tired of this! It's like you aren't even married to me sometimes because you're so focused on your work. It makes you an entirely different person."
Alex places her hands on her hips as she clicks her tongue and resists the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm the president Casey. It's not one of those things where I can just take off whenever for however long I want. What am I supposed to do?"
Casey scoffs before throwing her hands up, displaying her frustrations. "A couple of vacation days would be nice, yes! At least take a day where you can take your daughter to the damn pond to feed the ducks like you promised her you would! You know it breaks their hearts whenever you go back on a promise you made to them? Breaking a promise to me, I can deal with, but when you're constantly breaking a promise to your kids…" Casey trails off with a sad shake of her head before she spins on her heel and leaves Alex alone with her thoughts.
Alex sighs heavily and contemplates going after her wife before she remembers the stack of papers dominating her desk. She sighs once again and sits down before going back to signing, deeming that she will fix whatever is wrong with Casey later.
At first I had written this for it to be the other way around, you know, Alex being the First Lady and so on and so forth but I thought this would be more fun. Anyhow, lemme know what you think!
