AN: This story takes place after Iran. I thought it would have been interesting if they had done more with Jason and the security guard situation. Here is my take on it. I hope you all enjoy.
The Broken One
"Henry," Elizabeth said as she crawled into the bed next to him. It was their last night on the farm. Tomorrow night they would be in their new home and their new life would begin.
"Yes." He said as he closed his book and looked up at her. "What's wrong?" he asked as soon as he looked into her eyes. He knew immediately that something was bothering her. He figured it had something to do with the move and preparing for her new position. They had both been extremely stressed.
"Nothing." She shook her head and then against the headboard. "Well." She jumped forward and turned to face him. "I want you to promise me something."
"Okay." He nodded and smiled. He wondered if she realized how adorable she was when she was nervous. Probably not. He would have to tell her later. He couldn't help but chuckle.
She gave him a glare. She was trying to be serious. "You have to promise not to let this job change me or us." Elizabeth stared at him with those big beautiful eyes. "No matter what happens."
"Things are going to change, Elizabeth." Henry said honestly. "But we are going to be fine."
"You don't know that." Elizabeth shook her head.
Henry touched her face gently and smiled at her. She really was the most beautiful woman in the world. "Yes I do because I know you, and I know us. We have been through a lot, and I know that there isn't anything that we can't handle as long as we have each other." Henry pulled her into his arms. "I can't promise that things won't change, and I know that it won't always be easy. Life never is. However, I can promise you that I will be by your side no matter what happens. We are in this together." He kissed her forehead. "It is you and me, babe."
"I love you." Elizabeth rested her head on his shoulder, and Henry held her close.
"I love you, too." Henry smiled. In that moment, he knew that everything would be okay.
Now, Henry McCord wished he could go back to that moment. He needed things to go back to normal.
He tapped his finger rapidly against his laptop keypad. He hadn't typed one full sentence all day, which seemed to be a recurring issue. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't focus on his work. His mind constantly shifted back to Elizabeth and Iran. The worst part was not knowing exactly what she went through. He had prayed that she would finally open up to him about what happened. Sometimes she could be so damn stubborn, but she had never shutdown like this before. They were always able to talk to each other about everything, even if they had to leave out a few details here and there.
Even her response to George's death hadn't been this bad. It had taken her forever to breakdown, but that was mostly because her new job. She had eventually opened up. He remembered her crying for hours. Henry could only imagine how long she would cry if she finally opened up about Iran.
But then again, she had given no indication that she would ever discuss it. He knew that she would go crazy if she didn't. Honestly, he might.
He was also frustrated by her unwillingness to take any time off. She had gone back to work way before she was ready. He understood how she felt. It was true that women leaders had it harder than men. If she were a man, no one would question taking a few days to recuperate. But she wasn't a man, and Elizabeth didn't want anyone to think she was weak or undeserving of her position. He knew she was pushing herself way too hard.
There were also other things that were bothering him. He had made a mental list, adding something new every day.
Her mood swings.
The coldness in her voice.
The look of sadness in her eyes.
Her inability to sleep.
Her blank stares.
The quietness.
The secrecy.
The distance between them.
Her tone with the kids.
Her overprotectiveness with the kids, especially Jason.
The fact that for the first time he felt like he couldn't help her.
After his conversation with Kevin, he was 100% positive that his wife had PTSD. She had every symptom Kevin had listed off. Henry wanted to tell her and beg her to get help. But most of all he wanted to hold her tight and never let her go again. But he knew that wasn't an option. He also knew that she wasn't going to talk about it until she was ready. Therefore, all he could do was stand by her side and wait for her to let it all out.
He hoped for their children's sake that would happen soon. He didn't know how much more they could take. If he wasn't used to seeing Elizabeth this way, he knew they weren't. She was the most loving and caring mother he had ever known. Henry knew this had to be killing them.
He especially felt bad for Jason. First days were tough enough without having a 6'7 giant standing behind you. Henry had asked Jason how his first day had gone. He had mumbled that it was fine and stomped off to his room. Henry contemplated talking to him about it, but he wasn't sure that it would do any good. He knew Jason wasn't mad at him, and Henry didn't want Jason to be mad at his mother. Her fear was misplaced, but he didn't want to tell his thirteen year old son that. He would talk to him in time, once Elizabeth had finally opened up. He was sure that once she was in her right mind, she would loosen her grip and let Jason go to school alone. For now, he had decided to let Jason sulk.
"Dad," Stevie walked into the room, quietly, taking him away from his thoughts.
"Hey," He removed his glasses and looked up at his eldest daughter. He was surprised to see her. He hadn't realized anyone else was home. "I didn't know you were here."
"I've been here for about an hour." Stevie told him as she leaned against the doorframe. "I walked right past you."
"Right. I've been so focused on my book." Henry lied, hoping she would let it go.
"Uh huh." Stevie stared at her father. It broke her heart to see him so upset. She wasn't used to the distance between her parents. She knew her dad was trying to hide it, but he was unsuccessful in his attempts. "Sure."
"What?" Henry sighed. She wasn't going to let it go. She obviously wanted him to talk about it.
"I know you aren't okay." Stevie finally told him. "You don't have to hide it from me."
"I'm fine." Henry tried to reassure.
Stevie rolled her eyes and walked to her mother's desk chair and sat down. "I know you are trying to keep mom's issues a secret from us, but we all know that Iran really messed her up." She admitted.
Henry didn't know what he should say.
"She hasn't been the same since she got home. You can't hide that no matter how hard you try."
"Your mom is going to be fine." Henry told her. He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.
"We are worried about her too. We will do whatever we need to do to help her." Stevie wanted to be as supportive as possible. She and her mom hadn't always gotten along, but they had finally come to an understanding. Stevie hated seeing her mom so lost and sad.
Henry sighed. He knew his kids weren't stupid. They were actually the most perceptive kids he had ever met. It didn't surprise him. It was exactly how they had raised them.
But even so, it was still his first instinct as a parent to shield them from the pain. He actually wanted to do the same thing for Elizabeth. He still regretted not trying harder to stop her from going to Iran. The husband card should have worked. He really couldn't help but feel guilty. "We just have to give her some time."
"I think she needs a little more than time." Stevie spoke bluntly. She really wanted him to open up to her. She wasn't a little kid. She could handle the truth. "You know that I'm right."
"Stevie," Henry started. She was too much like Elizabeth sometimes.
"It's okay dad," Stevie interrupted him. "I get it. I know you don't want to talk about it. You don't have to." Stevie smiled softly at her father. "I wanted you to know that I'm there for you. I also know that Ally and Jason are too. We will do whatever we can to help."
"Thanks sweetie," Henry was really happy to have her home. She had definitely been a big help. "I wish I…" Before he could finish his sentence, his cell phone rang. "Hello. This is Henry." He answered. Henry listened, and Stevie watched as her father's face changed from sad to angry. "He did what? That doesn't sound like Jason." Henry was in disbelief. Jason had been getting into more trouble than normal lately, and it was going to stop. They couldn't afford for him to get suspended again. "Don't worry. I will find him. But if you find him first, please let me know. And Kevin…Let him know he is in big trouble. Thank you." Henry hung up the phone.
"Dad," Stevie stood up. "What did Jason do?"
Henry immediately got on his computer. "It seems your brother ditched his last two classes and his security detail." Henry was mad at Jason, but to his surprise, he was also mad at Elizabeth. He couldn't help but feel like all of this could have been avoided.
"It is only his second day." Stevie laughed. She couldn't believe how dumb her brother was.
Henry gave her a look. "Yeah. Tell me about it." He stared at his computer and pushed a few buttons. "Great. I know exactly where he is." Henry jotted down the address down. "I think this is the address to the arcade he likes so much."
Stevie took the paper from him. "Yeah. That's definitely the arcade." She looked at her father. "Wait a minute. How were you able to find him so quickly?" Stevie crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.
"Um," Henry stared at her guiltily. "Lucky guess." He laughed because he knew he had been caught.
"You have a tracker on his phone!" Stevie shook her head in disbelief. "Do you have a tracker on my phone?" Stevie pulled out her phone to check.
Henry was silent for a moment. "Yes." He admitted. "But in our defense we haven't used it on you since you were seventeen."
"I can't believe you guys spy on us." It really shouldn't have surprised her. They were so sneaky.
"It isn't spying. It is good parenting." Henry smiled. That was what they had always told themselves.
Stevie was actually relieved to see the smile on his face. "This is unbelievable. I should expect nothing less from the two of you."
"Sorry. But you have to admit it came in handy in this situation. At least we know where Jason is, and I can drag him home where he is going to stay for the foreseeable future." Henry grabbed his keys.
"Wait dad." Stevie stopped him. "Let me go. I'll bring him straight home."
Henry tossed her the keys.
"Besides you probably need to call and tell mom." Stevie had no idea how she would take it.
Henry shook his head. He hadn't decided if he was going to call her or not. This incident might throw her over the edge.
"You have to call her dad. She is going to find out eventually."
"I might wait until she gets home." Henry admitted. That would give him time to talk to Jason.
"I would advise against it." Stevie tapped him on the shoulder.
"Just bring your brother straight home." Henry told her.
"Got it." She turned to walk away, but then turned back around to face her father. "You used the tracker on me when I was dating that guy in high school you hated." Stevie finally put it all together. It made complete sense.
"Yep." Henry nodded as he sat back down in his chair. "We knew all along you didn't go on that church retreat."
"You guys are ridiculous." Stevie couldn't believe it had taken her thing long to put it all together. "I felt so guilty about lying to you. Mom kept telling me how proud she was of me. And you were so happy that you could trust me to make the right decisions. I worried myself sick for two weeks until I finally told you the truth."
Henry nodded again. That had been their master plan all along.
"And then you didn't even punish me. I felt even worse. I basically grounded myself." Stevie just shook her head. "I even broke up with him."
Henry stood up and walked over to his daughter. He put a hand on her shoulder. "You want to know a secret?"
Stevie stared at him.
"That was all part of our plan. We were actually pretty impressed with ourselves. It was parenting at its finest." He gave her a hug. "Do you forgive us?"
"Sure. As long as you promise to take it off of my phone."
"Deal." Henry smiled.
"Thank you." Stevie hugged him again. "I'll be back soon with your little ditcher."
"Thank you sweetie."
Stevie left and Henry walked back to his desk. He picked up his phone to call Elizabeth. He wasn't sure if he should. She was going to be mad, and he honestly didn't want to fight with her.
He put down the phone. He would call her after Jason was back home.
Henry hoped he was making the right decision.
