A/N: This is the final chapter. Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, and offered encouragement. I would like to give a special shout-out to my awesome editor Labyrinth01. Thanks for all your help, dear.
Chapter 4
"I am here to today to announce that I will not be seeking a second term. I would like to thank the American people for giving me the enormous privilege to serve as your President."
The briefing room suddenly erupted as reporters jumped to their feet and began waving their arms, shouting, "Madam President!" The flashes from the dozens of cameras were blinding as Sharon struggled to remain focused. Taking a deep breath, she called on a familiar journalist from the Chicago Sun and then one from CNBC. Everyone wanted to know why she wasn't running. She kept her answers concise: personal reasons, a conclusion that she'd reached after careful discussion with her family, and, no, she was not ill, although she was beginning to feel that way after half an hour of being under the bright lights and what felt like the entire country's scrutiny.
"That's all for now. Thank you," she announced as she took a step back from the podium, and Russ stepped up to fill her vacancy without a second's hesitation to continue taking questions from the press.
As she turned toward the door, Jack, who had been standing behind her the entire time, kissed her cheek and took hold of her hand to escort her to the hall. As soon as they were out of the sight of the press, however; they released hands without looking at one another and went their separate ways. Sharon immediately spotted Mike Tao, who was standing in the shadows, and walked over to greet him.
"Mike, thank you so much for the speech," she said, smiling and squeezing his hand gently.
"It was my pleasure, Madam President. I was sorry to hear that you won't be running next year, but I understand." He returned her smile, but she detected a sadness in his eyes.
Sharon leaned in to kiss him on the cheek and whispered, "If the next administration doesn't hire you, they're crazy."
A small group had begun to gather in the hall, and Sharon shook hands and shared chaste kisses with Louie, Amy, and the rest of her staff who were milling about. And if she lingered a little bit longer, closing her eyes and nuzzling into his neck when Andy hugged her, no one on her staff seemed to care.
"All right, everyone, back to work," she finally said over the dull hum of voices. "Our job is not finished yet. We still have a little over a year left in this White House; let's make the most of it, shall we?"
A soft round of applause began, but Sharon waved it off humbly. "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me," she said with a nod toward everyone. When her eyes scanned the faces in group, she stopped to make eye contact with Andy for just a second before turning away and heading back to work.
A few hours later, Sharon was seated at her desk with a report from the Department of Agriculture when her phone buzzed.
"Madam President?" She heard Amy's voice say.
"Yes?" she answered.
"Andy is here. Can I send him in?"
Sharon sighed. She really needed to get through this report, but she could spare a minute or two for him, she reasoned. "Yes," she finally answered. "And Amy?"
"Yes, Madam President?"
"Can you just give us a few minutes?" she asked, hoping her aide would understand her request that they not be disturbed.
"Of course."
Andy walked in then and made his way over to her as she came out from behind her desk to lean against its corner.
"Listen, Sharon, I don't want to take up too much of your time; I know that you're busy. I just wanted to let you know that I thought you did great today," he said, and when he reached her, he rested his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
Reaching up, she placed her hand over his and stroked his knuckles gently. "Thank you, Andy. That means a lot." She smiled up at him, and though she hadn't planned on kissing him just then, she tilted her head up almost instinctually when she sensed his mouth inching toward hers. Her eyes closed, her lips parted, and she could feel his warm breath on her face when the sound of the door flying open and a shout of "Mr. Raydor, wait!" caused the two of them to jump apart abruptly.
Jack took a step inside the office, but he stopped dead when he saw the scene before him. A devious smile curled his mouth, and he softly shut the door behind him. "Well, well," he said. "Now everything is becoming clear."
"What do you want, Jack?" Sharon asked with her eyes narrowed, daring him to comment on a moment that he was blowing way out of proportion.
Ignoring her question, Jack instead turned his attention to the man beside her. "Andy, Andy," he began, shaking his head and tut-tutting softly."We used to be friends, didn't we? And now you're banging my wife."
"Listen here, Jackie-boy," Andy spat back bitterly. "I've got news for you. We were never friends. A long time ago, you were someone to get drunk with, but that got old real fast. And as far as Sharon and I are concerned..." Sharon placed a gentle hand on his shoulder before he could begin to cross the room toward Jack.
"Andy, we don't owe him any explanation," she spoke softly before turning toward her husband. "And you," she continued in a more severe tone, "I've lost track of how many women I've caught you with or heard about over the years. Don't you dare come in here and accuse me of infidelity. We haven't had a real marriage in over twenty years, and it won't be too much longer until we are officially over."
"You filed for divorce?" Jack asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
Andy looked shocked, too. This was the first time Sharon had spoke of this to anyone.
"Gavin Baker has the papers all drawn up," she stated matter-of-factly. "They will be filed the day after the new president is sworn in. As far as I'm concerned, when we leave the White House, we will be going our separate ways. I hope you have a nice life, Jack. Now if you will excuse me, I have a cabinet meeting in..." She paused to glance at her watch. "Five minutes."
"This is isn't over," Jack warned, pointing a threatening finger at the two of them as he backed toward the door.
"Oh, I think it is," Sharon answered, crossing her arms over her chest and smirking in spite of herself. Jack may threaten her with retaliation, but she knew it was in his best interest to fly under the radar until her term was over. Then he would accept whatever conditions ended up being outlined if he knew what was good for him. He had caused plenty of scandal of his own during her term in office, and just about every judge in LA County had been a friend of Sharon's father, former DA William Francis O'Dwyer. No, Jack's idle threats didn't worry her one bit.
"You okay?" Andy asked when Jack was finally gone.
"Yes," she answered, while playfully adjusting his tie. Then smoothing it down, she added, "But I really do need to get to that cabinet meeting. I'll see you later?" Her eyes met his questioningly.
Andy grinned and leaned into whisper, "I'll bring the blanket," before kissing her softly.
Three months later
"Hey, Brenda? Come in here," Fritz called from the couch in the sitting room where he was currently nursing his first cup of coffee and perusing the paper. The TV was on low in the background, but when he noticed the headline that appeared at the bottom of the screen, he put his newspaper down and turned up the volume.
"Hold on, Fritzy. I'm just pourin' my coffee." He heard her answer from the kitchen.
"It looks like Will Pope is dropping out of the race!"
"Really?" she responded with a little too much surprise to be completely genuine as she entered the room to watch the report with him.
Sources say that Senator Pope was having an affair with a Margaret Scott, an auditor for the US Department of Energy. The two have been seen coming and going from the Washington Hilton in Adams Morgan…
"It's such a shame that Will chose to take Maggie to the one hotel currently under surveillance by the CIA for possible terrorist activity." Fritz turned and noticed the beginnings of a smile beginning to cross his wife's lips before she lifted her coffee cup to take a sip.
"That is a shame. I wonder who could have leaked it to the press, though. Certainly not the CIA," he mused.
"Oh, no, Fritzy. Someone must have a gripe against Pope. There must be someone who wanted to see him out of the race for president now that Sharon is not running." She moved to sit across his lap, her coffee cup still held in her right hand.
"Hmm..." he pondered with a cocked smile and a raised eyebrow before leaning in to kiss Brenda softly. When he pulled away, he said, "You do realize that Peter Goldman will probably get the Republican nomination now."
Brenda rolled her eyes. "Yes, I did consider that. I can't believe that he is the best that the GOP could come up with, but I have faith that Governor Delk will win the Democratic nomination, and he can beat Goldman no problem."
"You've certainly thought this through for someone who's just heard the news."
"Fritzy, you know how fast my mind works." She paused to smile at her husband before speaking again, this time in a more serious tone, "Are you okay with all this? With not runnin' and bein' done with politics? I know bein' in the White House was your dream for a long time."
"It was, Brenda, but now I have something else to look forward to. A new adventure." He paused to graze her abdomen, which had just begun to round as she was entering her second trimester of pregnancy. "Are you okay with all of this, Brenda? I know we didn't plan for this, but…"
"It was hard to accept at first," she admitted, resting her hand on his, "but I'm lookin' forward to this new chapter. As long as you're with me."
"You don't ever have to worry about that, Brenda," he said, tracing her cheek softly with his fingers before moving in for another kiss. As soon as their lips met, however, the sound of someone clearing their throat broke the spell of their intimate exchange.
"Excuse me, Mr. Vice President?"
Fritz looked up to see his assistant Stephanie in the entryway avert her eyes, adjust her glasses, and began to leaf through the stack of papers that were cradled in her arms. "Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to go over your schedule for the day, Sir."
Brenda raised her eyebrows and grinned at her husband. "Duty calls, Mr. Vice President. You'd better get to work."
One year later
Sunlight streaming through the gauze-like curtains covering the bedroom windows felt warm on Sharon's face as she slowly awoke. Without opening her eyes, she could tell by the brightness that it was already mid-morning. Out of habit, she usually stirred at around five, but in the past two months since she'd left the White House, she had gotten better at falling back asleep for a little while, especially now that there was usually the comforting weight of an arm wrapped around her middle and the warmth of another body beside to her.
She put her hand over the larger one that was resting on her bare waist and stroked the fingers there gently. It hadn't taken her long to get used to sharing a bed again, and she slept so much better these days than she had in a long time. Most mornings she didn't even want to get up, and lucky for her, on lazy Saturdays such as this one, she didn't have reason to.
Slowly she opened her eyes and glanced out her window to the view of the ocean. After leaving the White House, she and Andy had found a beautiful old Victorian situated on a hilltop in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco, which they now called home. The affluent neighborhood wouldn't necessarily have been their first choice for residence, but the sprawling estate offered the space and privacy she needed for security, and they both had to admit that it was nice to have the extra rooms for when their kids came to visit.
Some might say that buying a house together right away was moving a little too fast, but Sharon and Andy had been good friends for a long time. Becoming lovers was only the final step in a relationship that had been slowly blossoming for years.
Every now and then Sharon still wondered if she made the right decision in leaving the White House, but she always came back to this feeling of peace that she now awoke with each morning. And she couldn't imagine her life any other way.
Just as Sharon had suspected, Jack hadn't put up much of a fight during their divorce settlement. As his last hurrah, he waltzed in on one of her Senior Staff meetings during her last few weeks in office and made a sarcastic comment about how comfortable Andy and Sharon seemed to be getting with one another. In reaction to his sudden outburst, the entire room stood silent for a moment until Louie asked, "So how's that French girlfriend of yours doing, mon amie?"
Sharon hadn't meant to let out a snort of laughter at Louie's unexpected jump to her defense, but she couldn't help herself when she observed the shocked expression on her husband's face, almost as if someone had slapped him. Jack stormed out angrily then, and he never set foot in the Oval Office after that day.
True to his word, Gavin had filed the divorce papers the day after the inauguration, and both she and Jack were ready to go their separate ways by then. Neither wanted a long, drawn-out media spectacle to take away from the new president's first days in office. Jack moved to Las Vegas, where he was currently working in one of his old buddy's law offices. Somehow he always ended up back there. Sharon hadn't spoken to him in several weeks, but she was sure that she would be seeing him again soon. Buzz and Emily's wedding was coming up in the spring and Rusty and Gus were planning one of their own for autumn of next year. Ricky was still a confirmed bachelor, but that could all change at any point. Sharon knew better than anyone that love could creep up on you when you least expected it.
When the arm around her began to tighten, and she felt soft lips and the rough bristle of a day's worth of stubble brush against her shoulder, she knew that her bed mate was beginning to stir. "Morning, sleepyhead," she said before turning to face him, his arm still draped loosely around her.
Andy opened one eye briefly, but then closed it again before rubbing it with his knuckles. "Who are you calling sleepyhead? I don't see you in a rush to get out of bed," he mumbled before covering his mouth to stifle a yawn.
Sharon giggled at his dramatic movements before leaning in to softly kiss his lips. He hummed pleasurably as she pulled away.
"It's nice and warm here," she answered, snuggling closer to him and using her thumb to smooth down his eyebrows, which always seemed to become mussed in sleep. She continued to trace the features of his face and his eyelids drooped closed once again. "Anyway, you have me trapped," she pointed out, caressing the muscles of the arm encircling her to illustrate her point.
Raising the offending limb, he said, "You are free to go at any time." His movement caused the blankets covering them to rise up, letting in a draft that produced goosebumps on her bare skin.
"Andy!" she protested, quickly pulling his arm back down. "You're letting all the cold air in."
Her phone buzzed on the nightstand beside her then, and she instinctively turned to reach for it, but Andy gently pulled her back. "Don't answer it, Sharon. Just give it a minute."
She sighed, torn. Honestly, her phone didn't go off very often anymore. Any requests for public appearance and speaking engagements were filtered through Amy, who still worked as her personal aide and secretary. "It might be one of the kids," she said, grazing her lip with her teeth as she spoke, and Andy relented, releasing his hold on her.
Sharon picked up her glasses to slide them on her face and lifted her phone off the table to glance at the display. "It's from Louie," she said, swiping the screen with her finger to read the message. "Are you watching the news?" she read aloud, and then turned to him. "Andy, do you have the remote over there?"
Andy sighed, reached over to his nightstand to retrieve it, and pushed the power button. A reporter's voice said:
President Delk was rushed to George Washington University Hospital this morning when he suddenly collapsed during a cabinet meeting. Unconfirmed reports are saying he has suffered a massive stroke…
"Oh my God," Sharon whispered as she moved to sit up on the bed, pulling the sheet up to cover herself as she did. The phone in her hand suddenly began to vibrate again. It was a call this time, but her eyes never left the TV screen as she lifted it to her ear. "Hello?" she answered. "Yeah, we're watching it now. Is it true that he had a stroke?"
"Is it Louie?" Andy mouthed. Sharon nodded in reply, while simultaneously trying to listen intently to her old friend and keep her eyes on the news report.
"Okay, keep us informed," she said, before ending the call.
"What did he say?" Andy asked, turning down the volume on the TV so he could hear her response.
"He said they were in the cabinet meeting, President Delk was talking, and all of a sudden he started slurring his words and just collapsed. Louie's at the hospital now with some of the other staff waiting to hear how he is, but he doesn't think he's regained consciousness yet."
"Wow," was all Andy could think to say as he reached over to squeeze her hand, and they both stared at the muted TV, which was showing a video of the president's unmoving form being wheeled out of an ambulance.
After a few minutes, Andy stood up and bent down to pull on his shorts and t-shirt. "I'm gonna put on some coffee and start something for breakfast. You coming?" he asked her. "We can turn the TV on downstairs. And I'm sure Louie will call again with any news."
"I'll be out in a minute," she answered softly, waving a hand in his direction, but not meeting his eyes. Hers were still transfixed on the television as images of Mrs. Delk and their two sons flashed on the screen. They're so young, she thought to herself.
When Sharon finally joined Andy in the kitchen, he had already finished making blueberry pancakes, and he handed her one on a plate wordlessly with a strained smile as she sat at the table. She had thrown on her nightgown, not wanting to take the time to dress just yet while the status of the president was still so unclear. Through the entryway to the living room, she could see the TV, and she kept one eye on it as she cut her pancake into pieces. Andy motioned between the coffee pot and the tea kettle in order to gauge her preference, and she nodded toward the kettle before offering him a thankful smile.
The two ate quietly as they continued to listen to the news report, and Sharon occasionally stole glances at her cell phone beside her, which remained dark and silent. Not until they were drying the last dish from breakfast did the device finally light up and begin to buzz. Drying her hands quickly, Sharon raced toward her phone and saw the words "Unknown Caller" listed on the display.
"This is Sharon Raydor," she said tentatively, raising the phone to her ear.
"Please hold for the Vice President," a male voice that she didn't recognize answered. After a click and a beat of silence, a familiar female voice came on the line.
"Madam President?" the voice asked.
"For God's sake, Andrea, it's just 'Sharon.' What's going on over there?" she asked her good friend and former college roommate in exasperation.
Sharon detected a shaky intake of breath on the other end of the line before Andrea responded quietly, "He's dead, Sharon. Tommy Delk is dead."
"Oh, God," she answered, collapsing onto the kitchen chair.
Andy gazed at her from across the room with wide eyes. "Is he..." he began quietly, and Sharon nodded affirmatively before he could finish. He then joined her at the table, reaching across it to take her hand in his.
"I don't think I'm ready for this, Sharon," her friend whispered. "I was doing a favor for a former law school professor who's been a good friend and mentor when I agreed to run with him. I never imagined I'd be in this position so soon. I thought maybe eight years down the road, after two terms as VP under my belt…God, Sharon, he was such a healthy guy and really not that much older than we are. How did this happen?"
"I don't know that, Andrea," she answered sincerely, "but I do know one thing. You can do this. I mean, you can never truly be prepared for it, but you are one of the smartest, strongest women that I know, and you are going to make a great president."
Sharon detected muffled voices in the background. "I have to go, Sharon," Andrea said quickly.
"Of course you do," Sharon replied. "I'm here if you need me. Call anytime. And Andrea?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't let them see you sweat."
An hour later, showered and dressed, Andy and Sharon sat on the couch and watched the news coverage, which had finally reported President Delk's death. It truly was a dark day and a sad occasion. Sharon was not looking forward to having to return to DC for the funeral next week, but all of that faded to the back of her mind for the time being as she watched her friend on the television place her left hand on a bible, raise a slightly shaking right hand, and recite the oath of office:
"I, Andrea Hobbs, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God."
"Congratulations, Madam President," the Chief Justice said, firmly shaking Andrea's hand.
Sharon had never felt so proud.
~FIN