"My fellow Americans, last night, our country was hit by one of the most devastating attacks we have ever seen. But as before, America will show the world that we will not bow down to fear, that we will fight back, that we will persevere."
CNN, Fox News, ABC, and every other news channel replayed highlights of the speech that the new president had given last night only hours after the terror attack had struck the Capitol. All of them were trying to dig up every piece of evidence – the good, the bad, and the ugly – that could be found about the new woman who would be running their country. For better or for worse, there was truly little that could be found. Most of her life before she had come to D.C. had little going on – she'd been published a few times as a professor here and there, but it was hardly political.
"Who is President Kepner?"
"Despite the President's remarks last night, most Americans remain terrified."
"Needless to say, this president is not equipped for office."
It was rare to see so many different news stations managing to come together in agreement about anything. Yet today was one of those rare days. What had happened the night before was horrific, there was little to know about the new woman who was in power, and none of them had confidence that she was capable of seeing out justice and unifying the country again.
April had her own doubts. She didn't need the world adding to them.
Even though her confidence as a whole had grown now that she was an adult, a successful wife, and mother, good at her job – or at least, she had thought so until Webber had cut all of her remarks from his speech. Now, though, it didn't matter if she was good at being the Secretary of Agriculture. That was a small job compared to running the entire country. She had to start over again by figuring out how best to do her job and no time to do it. The world was watching. But it was more than the pressure of witnesses. It was the need to do the right thing.
All night, she had been up. After the speech had been made, she had gone right back to the war room. No answers had come in the hours that she had spent awake, running back and forth between that and people trying to get her prepared for her job. No sleep was to be her new normal.
The morning sun rose above the fallen capital city. As news reporters continued to blather on and her new phone came up with notification after notification, she turned off the television and set her phone face down. If something urgent came in, then Stephanie or Ben would come in to tell her directly. She knew that and she trusted them. They were smart and good.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" Jackson asked, brows drawing down with concern. "You know that you need to get some. We've talked about this before."
"No, I couldn't. Not last night," she shook her head, running her hand over her face.
"I didn't get much either," he admitted with a shrug. "Sam and Harriet both wanted to sleep with me last night. They were scared. I think they were waiting for you to come to bed."
"I'm sorry, honey," April sighed and slouched. "I should've come to see them. Are they eating breakfast now?" He nodded his head. "Why don't we go join them? I need coffee."
"Good idea."
Food was just another thing that April had forgotten throughout the course of the night, but thinking about it was enough to make her stomach grumble. Hand in hand, she and her husband made their way from the residence and toward the kitchen of the White House.
The White House remained buzzing with energy even early in the morning, almost every important military general and personnel making their presence there, nearly every important person in D.C. who was still alive finding a reason to be there this morning. April can't avoid getting stopped with comments and other things as the two of them just try to make their way to their children, wanting at least five minutes to be able to sit down with them. She hadn't prepared what she was going to say to them.
What did someone even say in a situation like this one?
All of the worry growing inside of her was momentarily relieved when she heard Harriet's loud laughter. A smile relaxed her lips and she glanced up at Jackson, seeing him smile too. Their children were still okay.
"Hi babies," April greeted both of them with a smile.
"Mom!" Samuel got up from his chair, immediately hugging her. She ruffled his hair gently. "Are we really in the White House? Where the president lives?"
"Yeah, kiddo, we are. Remember? We talked about this some last night." Jackson said.
"We thought you was joking," Harriet said.
"No, ladybug, Daddy was being serious." April sat down once her son had let go of her. She placed her hand on top of her daughter's. "Daddy told you that something very bad and scary happened last night, right? That was why the Secret Service came to pick up you and Grandma."
"Yeah," Samuel nodded.
"Well… because of what happened last night, Mommy's going to be president now." She unloaded on them, holding back a sigh. "It means that I'm going to have to work a lot more. Especially the next few days while we try and sort out the bad thing that happened."
"What about us?" Harriet asked.
"Nothing is going to happen to either one of you," April squeezed her daughter's hand with a promise. "You guys are in the safest place in the whole wide world. And you have lots of people looking out for you now, more than just me and Dad. I promise. We're all going to be safe and happy, we're just going to have a much bigger house now."
"Are we still going to go to the same school?" Samuel looked between both of his parents. "I really like my friends. I don't want to go to a different school."
April paused with her mouth open. "I'm not sure," Jackson spoke up. "We're still figuring it out. We may not have a choice about everything. But if we have to do something we don't like, then it's probably to make sure that we're all safe. Okay?"
"Okay," he mumbled.
"Okay." Harriet echoed.
"So… you're really the president now?" Samuel asked after a moment passed, looking up at me. "But you'll still go to the doctor with me, right? I don't want to go with just Dad. No offense."
"I'll do my best," she shifted closer to her son as she spoke. "Okay? I don't know for sure. I want to. And I'll do my very best to be there. But things are definitely going to be different now."
He leaned into his mother, wrapping his arms around her. She rubbed his back gently. "I don't want things to change."
"I know, baby, I don't really want them to either," she empathized. "But sometimes we don't get a choice. Sometimes we get asked to do hard things and we just have to do it because it's the right thing to do. That's what I'm doing right now." April kissed the top of his head. "It's going to take some getting used to, but we will all be fine. I promise."
April hoped it was a promise she could keep.
She doesn't get to stay down in the kitchen with her husband and children as long as she wanted to. Instead, she only got a few minutes of relative peace with the three of them before Stephanie found her down there, letting her know that she was needed again. April wasn't sure how she was going to manage to get used to the constant busyness of the job. Everything felt like it was never-ending.
It takes some getting used to, figuring out how to navigate the White House. She'd been in it plenty of times before and yet now, it was an utterly different feeling. This was her White House. It was her family who was going to be living in the residence. She would have to piece together a new administration to fill it once more. Now, it seemed both empty and chaotic at the same time. Paranoid whispers continued even as she rushed past it, fear and mourning. No one was entirely settled with the speech that had been given the night before.
"I need to warn you," Stephanie started as they walked down to the Oval Office. "This meeting is going to be a lot more hectic than the ones that you're used to."
"I had a bad feeling that you were going to say that."
Taking a deep breath, her hands ran over the front of her dress to smooth it out and fiddled with her blazer. This morning, she had gotten the chance to pull it out of her own closet after some things had been brought it, but she didn't feel like she looked nice enough.
"We've added increased security to our oil and gas pipelines, power grids, refineries, chemical storage tanks." The first man spoke.
"Mass transit is still on lockdown – planes, and trains."
"Immigration remains frozen."
"Ma'am, you have to authorize - we close the banks immediately."
Words were thrown at her faster than what she could process and yet none of it was what April had been hoping that she would actually get a chance of hearing this morning: some kind of information about the bombing, some kind of good news that they were headed down the right path to figuring out who had done this. A deep breath was taken before she could get herself to speak up.
"We can't keep people from their money," April murmured.
"If we don't shut down the banks, it could cause a massive depression. The banks will collapse. One that will define your legacy just as much as whatever happens next." One of the advisors replied.
"What about the bombing?" She switched subjects. "Where are we with that?"
"Deputy Director Yang will be briefing us soon, but we're looking at groups with the skills and resources to do something like this. ISIS, North Korea, RGB." Major Hunt answered.
"How did the terrorists bring explosives into the Capitol Building in the first place?" She questioned.
"We're working on that. In the meantime, we have to go after everyone we suspect. We go after them, after their families - anyway that we can." Hunt answered.
"I'm sorry," Stephanie interrupted. "Are you talking about enhanced interrogation?"
"They destroyed our Capitol. I'm saying we do whatever we have to do." He replied.
"No," April spoke up with a shake of her head. "There's no way that we're going to do that. That is not going to be a part of this administration. We are not going to become terrorists ourselves in order to try and seek out justice for what happened against our country. That's unacceptable." She took a deep breath, looking at him sternly before turning to one of the other men in the room. "For now, we're going to close the banks. But ATMs and credit will still be available. If you'll excuse me."
Her heart was pounding inside of her ribcage as she stepped out of the Oval Once with Stephanie quickly following on her heels. Was she completely in over her head?
"Was that okay?" She whispered to Stephanie.
"You're the president now, Ma'am," her advisor replied. "It was and more importantly, they have to listen to you even if they disagree with you. Right now, you're pretty much the government."
"Right…" April wet her lips. "I need to put together a cabinet. I'm going to need your help with that. I know that I want you to be my Chief of Staff. You're the only one that I trust to do that and to help me. I'm going to need a strong cabinet to get me through this. Preferably with some experience. More experience than I have, at least."
"I'll get something put together," Stephanie promised her.
"And there's one more thing," she tried to relax, forcing herself to stand up straight. "I want to go see the Capitol. What's left of it."
"That's a good idea," she nodded her head. "It'll send a powerful message."
The message wasn't what she was concerned about but April gave a nod of her head in understanding. That was something important and something that she would need to begin to think about more consciously. It hadn't mattered so much as Secretary of Agriculture. She was sure that most people hadn't even known who she was then. Sure, she'd been in the cabin and that was important, but it wasn't as flashy as something like the Secretary of Defense – which was a position that she currently needed desperately.
But she needed to take one step at a time, as hard as that was going to be. It wasn't something that she was sure that she would have the patience for while things were on high alert like this.
Messages of support continued to pour in from the heads of state of countries all around the world. April wasn't able to take the calls personally like she wanted to – there was far too many to be able to juggle that on top of everything else that she had to do. But she wished that she could take a few. She could have used a few little pep talks from respected world leaders.
"Madam President, I want you to know that I don't care what those so-called pundits are saying. I was very moved by your words last night." An older, dark-haired woman spoke to her as she moved through the hallways of the White House.
"Well, thank you," April smiled, pleasantly surprised. "I'm so sorry, but who are you?"
"Madam President, this is Congresswoman Amelia Shepherd," Stephanie answered.
"Congresswoman?" April questioned.
"Yes," she nodded her head. "I was last night's other designated survivor. The party decided that they wanted to have someone sit out of the State of the Union as well."
"Excuse us, please," April spoke to Stephanie so that she could pull the Congresswoman into another room. For the first time today, she felt something akin to relief. Perhaps she wasn't as alone in this as she had thought that she was before. Someone else had managed to survive the horrific bombing.
Both women sat down at the corner of the table in the room. April took a deep breath, not wanting to get too emotional. But perhaps there was someone else who understood the crazy position that she was in, just a little.
"435 representatives, 100 senators, and 9 justices. And now it's just the two of us." She remarked.
"I know. You don't know whether to feel ashamed or grateful to be alive," Amelia replied.
April didn't hesitate to disagree slightly. "Apologetic."
"Ma'am?" She questioned.
"To the American people, because now they're all stuck with me. I mean, let's face it. No one knew who I was before and people barely know who I am now, other than some lucky son of a gun." She explained, her bottom lip catching between her teeth.
"Do you remember the way that the country felt during 9/11? No one thought that we could get through it back then, but we did. And nobody thinks that we can get through it now, but we will. This White House is now your White House. You have to make it your own. Whatever you need, don't ask. Demand it. Democrat, Republican, Independent – pardon me, but who gives a shit right now?" The bluntness in Amelia's words was enough to get a real smile out of April.
"Thank you, Congresswoman," she replied genuinely.
"Please, call me Amelia."
"Okay." She nodded. "Amelia, later this afternoon, I'm going to the Capitol. I think it would be a good idea if we could go together. A showing of unity. What do you think?"
"I'd be honored, Madam President. Thank you."
"No, thank you."
At least the next time that she was in the Oval Office, it was not surrounded by Majors and advisors who made her feel utterly out of place with her presence there. Instead, it was her and her husband. April still didn't feel entirely right sitting in the chair and behind the desk – it was the last place that she had seen President Webber and she just couldn't bring herself to do it yet. Instead, it had been easier to settle down on the two couches with a pot of coffee on the table between them.
It was one of those moments where no conversation was truly necessary. Words couldn't convey everything that was happening. Their entire lives had been thrown for a loop. Murkiness was the only thing either one of them could see going forward.
Jackson set down his cup of coffee and stood up, moving over to the couch with his wife. He pulled her feet into his lap, leaving her heels on the floor, and began to rub the arch of her feet. Immediately, a groan parted her lips. She had been running around in heels all day and they had stopped being comfortable after about an hour of it. She hadn't thought flats looked professional enough but now she was close to the point of not caring.
"Thank you," April murmured, a smile on her lips as she briefly rested her eyes.
"Samuel discovered that there's a bowling alley here," Jackson said. "I think it made him feel a lot better about it. And when Harriet realized how big her bed was now, well, that made her very happy."
"That's good," she nodded her head. "I want them to at least be happy here. Maybe it'll keep them away from the television and everything else that's going on right now."
"Is it going to be safe for you to go down to the Capitol site today?" He asked.
"Ben will make sure that it is," she answered. "I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't let me if it wasn't. He'd probably get me in a fireman's hold and physically restrain me if he had to." She chuckled even though it really wasn't funny. "I'll be safe. I just wish you could come. I want you around all day."
"Unfortunately, I don't think they'd approve of that." Jackson gave her hand a little squeeze. "Besides, if you're wearing dresses and heels all the time now, then the world is just going to see me staring at your ass."
She poked his stomach with her foot, smiling. "You're terrible."
"We still have this giant house to christen, you know. It's a big one." He wasn't quite serious with his words, teasing her to keep that smile on her face. He knew she was under enormous pressure and would do anything to see her smile right now.
"After I go to the Capitol, I have a meeting with Director Yang and then I need to call back some heads of states to apologize and also start figuring out a new cabinet." April sighed while thinking about the responsibilities. "But maybe we can have a late dinner. Just us."
"Did you know I'm supposed to have a staff of my own? Except they're going to have to rename it. I think they want to do First Gentleman." Jackson commented, switching the foot he was massaging.
"First Gentleman," she echoed. "I"m not ready to have the nation drool over my husband."
"I'm not ready to have the world drool over my wife, but here we are," he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I'd like to still work as a doctor if I can, but I understand that right now… it's probably not a good idea. The kids need one of us around. When things have calmed down again, maybe we can figure it out then." He suggested.
"Of course," she nodded her head. "I don't want you to give up your work because of me."
"Right," he said slowly. "This is an exceptional circumstance, though. It's another thing we'll figure out later."
A knock on the door interrupted the moment between them and April couldn't help but sigh, knowing what that meant. It was likely Ben telling her that there was only a few minutes before they need to take her for the pending appearance at the Capitol's remains and to go over security protocols. It was odd for her to think about the fact that there was now likely a large population that wanted her dead for her role. She didn't want to think about it.
"I love you, pumpkin," Jackson said and leaned forward, kissing her lips softly. "I'll see you tonight."
"I love you too."
Her prediction was correct.
Ben came into the room to deliver strict instructions about what she could and couldn't do while she was out there. He had brought a change of clothes for her as well – a pair of black slacks and a blouse and blazer that she was sure Stephanie had picked out, as well as a pair of boots with a low and wide heel instead of the typical high heels that she had been wearing. That was a welcome relief and likely to make it easier to get around the rubble remains.
Driving through the streets from the short distance from the White House to what was left of the Capitol Building, she could feel her anxiety growing. There would be press. Photos. Questions that she wasn't ready to answer. But more importantly, the remains of an attack that had taken hundreds of lives. No survivors had been assumed as they had begun digging through what was left and pulling out bodies of some of the nation's beloved (or not so beloved) representatives. April knew that she couldn't get emotional, that she had to be strong. But she also knew that it wasn't going to be easy.
As the motorcade pulled to a stop, she shut her eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to do this. Not only for herself, but for a grieving country.
"Ma'am?" Ben spoke.
"Yes?"
"You should wear this." He leaned forward and placed a small, presidential looking American flag pin to her blazer. "It's good for appearances. Remember, don't get more than an arm's length away from me."
Nodding her head to let him know that she had heard him, he signaled and the door was opened. Placing both feet on the ground, April stood up and squinted for a moment as she took in the site before her.
Half of the dome of the Capitol building remained but it was no longer a stark white, instead blackened from the flames and smoke that had been emitted in the bomb blast. Most of the building had fallen apart. Gray and brown were everywhere, messy piles of what had once been the most iconic building in the entirety of the United States. What stuck to her most was the smell – it was absolutely horrific, a cataclysmic mess of every terrible burnt smell imaginable all in one place. She stood there for a long moment as she absorbed the image that would mark the next few years of her life, eyes widening as she forced back tears from spilling over.
"Ma'am," Ben murmured to her, reminding her that she needed to move.
A small, jittery nod was given as she began to force her feet closer to the site. As she came closer and the first responders working the scene recognized her presence, all of them stopped what they were doing and straightened up to formally respect her. As April made eye contact with a few weary faces, she gave a soft smile and tearful nod of her head in recognition for what they were doing.
She had thought her job was hard. But suddenly, she was forced to face the recognition that she wasn't the only one here who had suddenly been faced with an unimaginably tough job. What they were doing had to be more difficult.
Silence fell as people turned and faced her, waiting for her to speak. Amelia nodded encouragingly as they made eye contact.
"Thank you all for being here today," April started slowly. "I thought I would have a better sense of what to say when I got here, but to be honest with you, I don't. There are no words to convey the tragedy that this attack is. And I thought that I had a hard job, but coming here to see what you're all doing… you have a job that is much, much harder than mine. And I am so sorry that you have to do this. But I thank you all for what you're doing. I promise, I am going to find out who did this and they will be brought to justice. We're doing everything that we can. Thank you for doing everything that you can. If there's anything that you need, please, let me know and we'll do our best to accommodate you."
Some applause followed the president's words after she spoke and she stepped down from the rubble that had given her some height. Stephanie nodded her head in approval of the little speech. A few firefighters and other first responders came up, shaking her hand and thanking her.
"We appreciate you coming out here," a woman spoke to her. "Captain Herrera. My team here is from NYC. We drove down last night after the news, knew you'd need more hands."
"Thank you, Captain," April replied. "We appreciate it and, well, you know better than I do that we do."
"Anything that we can do to help, Ma'am." She gave her hand a firm squeeze.
Captain Herrera stepped back to continue with the work that she and her crew of firefighters were doing. April stood there for a few moments longer as she stared at everything that was being done. It would take days, weeks to clear out the scene. Then there was the matter of actually rebuilding – it would have to be done as soon as possible. She knew that.
"Hey!" Someone shouted. "I think we've got something!"
Other first responders began to rush over to the man who was speaking and April stepped up, stretching up on her toes to try and see what was going on. "Ma'am, please, step down," Ben said as he approached her.
"We got a live one!" A man yelled.
Without thinking, April turned on her heel and ran toward the sound of the man yelling along with the other first responders. She could hear Ben shouting after her, not thinking for a moment about how what she was doing was a huge security risk and ultimately going to end up as a lecture against her. But the press, on the other hand, watching and waiting with their cameras, were eager to catch every moment of her.
Firefighters worked quickly to remove the rubble that had pinned down the man and kept him hidden for nearly eighteen hours since the bomb had gone off. He was barely conscious. Men were shouting and as Ben caught up with April, he grabbed onto her shoulder to keep her still.
"Someone's alive?" April shouted.
"It's Senator Taylor!" Another man called out.
"Let me see, let me go." April requested and Ben begrudgingly let go of her so that she could climb up onto the rumble with the firefighters herself and see what was going on.
Sunlight poured into the hole that had been opened up in order to free the man from the rubble. He stirred momentarily and his eyes eventually opened to squint back against the bright light shining down on him. Blood and grime were splatted across his face and what had once been a neat tuxedo. The EMTs worked along with the firefighters to get him out safely.
"Senator, you're going to be okay." She spoke up loudly to make sure that he heard her. "You're going to be just fine."
The press did not hesitate to go crazy with taking more photos and shouting questions – both to Senator Taylor and to President Kepner, trying to get answers to either one of them. Once he had been pulled entirely out of the rubble and secured to be taken to the hospital, Warren quickly escorted April out of the scene, well aware that she would want to go to the hospital herself. She apologized to Amelia on the quick exit. But there was no way that she could stay a minute longer. April had to see this through and make sure that her words were a kept promise.
Driving to the hospital couldn't have possibly felt longer. April had been nervous going in and yet the way that her heart now pounded as they moved to the hospital was even more erratic. Senator Matthew Taylor. Wyoming, she was almost certain – a Republican. She'd barely interacted with him. Somehow, he had survived. It was a miracle.
At the hospital, however, she doesn't get to interact with the Senator. Instead, he was taken up to surgery. An arrangement of flowers and a handwritten note was left once she had assurance from the doctors that he would be fine.
"I can't believe someone survived," Stephanie said.
"I can't either…" April shook her head. "I saw the bomb blast from the safe house. It was huge. And the remains… to think that anyone was able to survive that… And yet I'm relieved."
"Well, he is a Republican." She pointed out.
"That's not what I mean," she gave a dry chuckle. "Someone else who knows what they're doing. That's a good thing. I need as many people helping me out here and I can. Having Shepherd, and Taylor… that's good. Plus I'm sure it'll give me a little more credibility in the press. It's not just me running things."
"That's true," Steph agreed. "But still. I'd prefer you keeping Shepherd close and him at an arm's length, at least, in private. In public, you need to become besties with both of them."
"Figures," April murmured. "I'll do what I can. I'm just grateful for the miracles that we have right now."
Leaning forward to grab the remote and turn on the television, both women turned their heads as CNN came on the screen. Coverage had been nonstop since the attack – no leads had been released to the public yet that had not stopped them from spiraling with their own. It was fear mongering at its worst. There was still a lack of confidence in her. The meeting that she'd had upon coming back to the White House had only confirmed that they still didn't know who had attacked the Capitol or how they had managed to get explosives into the building.
PRESIDENT KEPNER VISITS CAPITOL.
SURVIVOR FOUND AFTER TERROR ATTACK.
SENATOR MATTHEW TAYLOR FOUND ALIVE IN CAPITOL REMAINS.
All of the headlines that played across the screen were news that April was already familiar with. The news remained on even when she went back to the residence so that she could join her husband – dinner had fallen through. Jackson had texted her that they had eaten while she had been in the meeting with Director Yang. Time at the hospital had pushed back her schedule.
Both her children had ended up asleep by the time that she came back. She'd given them each a kiss on the forehead before going to join her husband in bed, happy to put on pajamas and hope that she could at least get in an hour or two of time asleep with him.
"Did you get to talk to him any? The senator that survived?" Jackson asked.
"Not really. He was out of it at the site and then went into surgery at the hospital." She answered. "Do you know any of the surgeons who were working on him over there?"
"Unless he needed a plastics guy, probably not." He took her hand, kissing the back of her knuckles. "I'm glad you're going to have some help. Maybe it means I can get a little more time with you."
"I'm sorry I missed dinner." April shifted closer to her husband, giving him a soft kiss. "I wanted to be there."
"It's okay," he murmured.
"I guess it was naive to think I'd be able to balance this right off the bat," she commented with a sigh, placing her hand on his face and smiling at him. "This is going to be really hard. Even if I miss dinners though, I want Samuel to know I'm coming to doctor appointments still."
Jackson nodded his head. "I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. I've been looking into tutors for him. I mean, I figure right now, that's probably the only option we really have."
"You're probably right," she sighed. "I know he's not going to like that. But maybe while he's getting treatment, it'll be good for him. He won't have to worry about falling behind."
"He will be fine." He leaned forward, kissing his wife firmly. "And so will we."
"You know…" April breathed out softly, bottom lip catching between her teeth for a brief moment. "We have a minute now if you're still interested in starting to christen the house."
"Well, a minute's all I need." He answered with a laugh.
"Don't you dare." She pouted. "C'mere."
The first time that Jackson and April had sex in the White House, it was not with the same celebratory chutzpah that many presidents and their spouse had upon first getting to move in. Instead, it was something much more meaningful between the two of them. Scratches were left down the muscles along Jackson's back and hickies along April's ribs and inner thighs, each one of them desperately clinging to one another with the sheer desperation and relief to hold and to have another, to both be alive after the tragedy. It was hot and loud and messy and desperately needed.
Covered in sweat and panting to catch their breath by the time that they were both truly spent after a few rounds, April kept one leg hooked over Jackson's frame but otherwise spread out slightly to cool off. The television had been muted and all either one of them could hear was the sound of each other breathing.
"You're going to do this," Jackson spoke up after a few minutes. "We are. But mostly, you are. You're going to be good at this. You've got the biggest heart. Right now, the country needs someone with a heart. With compassion. You don't get that in an everyday politician."
"I'm only going to be able to do this if I've got you by my side." She needed her support system.
"You'll have me. Every step of the way, I promise."
"I know," April smiled softly, rolling onto her side and propping herself up with her elbow. "I do. And I'm lucky to have you. You're going to have to keep me responsible for keeping my crap together with our family."
"You won't need me to once we adjust," he reassured. "Once we know who did this, we'll find some kind of pattern that works for all of us. I know we will. You've always been a little bit superhuman."
Her eyes rolled but she smiled. "I'm not. I got lucky. I have the best kids in the world and the best husband in the world."
"I'll make sure that Steph gets down Samuel's next doctor appointment down on your calendar and that she knows it can't be moved or skipped." He promised. "We won't let him down."
Suddenly, the door to their bedroom flew open.
"Oh my god!"
"Shit!"
April and Jackson both scrambled to cover themselves up with limbs and the bedsheets upon Stephanie bursting into their bedroom as if she had practically heard her name on the other side of the door. She blinked in surprise to see both of them in a nude and awake state, having anticipated that she was about to wake up the president with the newest emergency that had occurred.
"Uh, Ma'am, you're going to need to get dressed," Stephanie started after a pause. "We've got a situation."
"What is it now?" April held the sheet tight over her chest, looking around for clothing in reach.
"Dearborn, Michigan. According to reports, police were harassing the Muslim population there. Two men were shot and killed by the police and the riots are just now starting." She exclaimed with a grimace.
"Shit," April swore and shot an apologetic glance at Jackson.
"Go. It's okay," he encouraged her with a nod of the head.
Quickly getting out of bed and taking one of the sheets with her, the redhead grabbed the closest set of clothes that she could and pulled her hair back in a messy bun. Glasses were gathered from the nightstand to avoid having to put her contacts back in and she put on a pair of flip flops to quickly head back down to the other end of the White House.
"We've got to get this under control ASAP," Stephanie spoke. "If you don't, it's only going to start a new set of people questioning your authority."
"It's unacceptable. We can't just target people because we're afraid. This White House is not going to stand for that." She stated, rubbing both hands over her face and taking a deep breath. "What do I do? Do I call someone? Do I go to Michigan?" Questions came out quickly.
"We're making a statement. I'll get someone in here to fix your hair and face."
It seemed as if there was going to be some kind of statement from her every day of her presidency at this rate. That was the only thing that she could think of as she settled down in front of the camera again, being pulled around like a doll so that she didn't look sleep deprived and getting rid of the sex hair that Jackson had roused. This time when the cameraman counts down for her to begin, she's more comfortable than she was the night before.
"Good evening, America…"
