IV

Stevie eavesdrops on her mom and Russell Jackson

Post-s4

Not many people could claim to have accidentally started eavesdropping on a conversation between the White House chief of staff and the Secretary of State, but to Stevie, that was exactly what had just happened.

She'd been supposed to be done for the day about an hour ago but her buss card had died on her, and so like every other teenager, she'd gone for her mom for a ride home. Ironically, Blake had referred her back to Russell Jackson's office, and the conversation topic inside had caught her interest and glued her to the door.

"Hypothetically…" her mother begun, and judging by the weight of that word alone, Stevie wasn't sure which of them was due for a heart attack, Russell or herself.

"If I were to run-"

"Bess", Russell interrupted, sounding out of breath.

There was a long silence, and Stevie frowned, panicking a little. Russell was as good at storming out of meetings as her mother was at making people do that. She should probably make herself scarce before either of them caught her. Adele had already left, and it was late enough that no one else should find her crouched on the chief of staff's outer office, practically ear flat against the door.

What a picture she painted. Why couldn't her mom just have made life easier and admitted it any of the nearly a dozen times she'd asked?

"Would you just let me finish, Russell. This is harder for me to say than it is for you to hear", Elizabeth insisted.

Stevie exhaled, smirking. The teasing tone that had returned to her mother's voice meant the pause in the conversation had been filled with Russell gesturing rapidly and her mom answering with a variety of facial expressions. For two people who were more or less professional communicators, they relied a lot on nonverbal means of speak.

"Please say it then already."

Russell's voice had an impatient edge to it, which Stevie understood well. She had to suppress the urge to squeal herself. Her mom was seriously considering running for president! Stevie imagined she had already decided, seeing as she was ready to consult Russell. She wouldn't throw him a bone if she weren't ready to go through with it. He wouldn't stop insisting, wouldn't let her back down.

Reluctant but certain, Stevie withdrew from the door before her mom could lay down her plan. She'd wait for her somewhere downstairs. It would have felt wrong to hear the announcement ahead of time, before her mom was ready to share it. Moreover, her mom would want her family's genuine reactions, and Stevie wanted to see those, too, even if there were no guarantees they would be entirely positive.

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Stevie collapsed against the back wall of the elevator and let the blow drive the air out of her lungs. She hadn't been present to discuss her mom's abrupt career change the last time, and her own reaction had been significantly toned down by the fact that she'd heard the news over the phone. Besides, her roommate had been home. All exclamations had had to wait until the public announcement, after which Stevie had tried to keep an extensively low profile – to no avail.

If Elizabeth was planning on running for president, she would be catapulted into the limelight once again. Stevie couldn't say she was thrilled that their family would be under scrutiny, probably much more so than when her mom had first been appointed as Secretary of State. That had ultimately been Dalton's decision, and while the general public could disagree with it, they had no real influence. Next time around, they would decide, and although her mom made it look relatively easy, winning the nation over would require a lot of work.

Stevie was glad her mom had turned to Russell Jackson for he certainly knew everything about the dark side of politics. She wasn't as oblivious as she let her mom pretend she was; she knew getting things done was hard, sometimes almost impossible if playing by the book. Too many people fought dirty. Russell was often advocating for the easy way, too, if he thought the situation required it. As much as she admired the man's work, Stevie hoped her mom could stay above petty or dishonest campaigning tricks. She was pretty sure she could, though; Stevie didn't really need to worry about that.

The real problem was how much mudslinging Elizabeth would face herself. She had ruffled a lot of chauvinistic feathers over the years, and while Stevie was almost spitefully proud of her for it, it had provided a reason for people to gun for her for barely political reasons from the beginning of her reign. It wasn't like Elizabeth couldn't take the hits; she had proved over and over again that she could hold her own. Stevie was just angry that she would have to.