Chapter 7

Henry stood patiently outside their bathroom door. It felt like a different world. He had never been afraid of entering the bathroom when Elizabeth was taking a bath. Most of the time he would actually join her. But he knew that wasn't what she needed, and he was paralyzed with fear.

She had been in the bathroom for over an hour. He hadn't heard her rerunning the bath water. She had to be freezing. He had to check on her. He had no other choice. "Elizabeth," he said quietly before gently knocking on the door.

He got no response. "Babe, I'm coming in." He said as he opened the door. He was surprised at what he saw. She was still in her bathrobe, and her hair was dry. The water in the tub had been untouched. She was sitting on the floor next to the tub, her eyes filled with tears. "Honey." He rushed to her side. She flinched at his embrace, sending a chill down Henry's back.

"I know I'm not fine." She said with a broken voice. "I'm smart enough to know that I'm not okay, and that what happened in Iran changed me." She rested her head on Henry's shoulder. "I know that the next thing that you are going to say is that I need to talk about it, but I can't. Every single time I try to talk about it, I'm taken back to that house and that moment. And I just can't do it. Henry, I'm too scared to talk about it. I relive that moment every second of every day, and it is just too hard to talk about it." Her tears fell down her face harder.

Henry wiped away her tears. "You don't have to talk about it until you are ready. I'm sorry that I've been pushing you."

"Oh Henry," Elizabeth looked into his big beautiful eyes. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. I'm the one that's been all over the place lately, I promise I'm going to try to get back to normal."

"Babe, I don't care if it takes you a thousand years to get over this. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to us. I always have and always will have your back. You never have to worry about us. Okay." He touched her face gently so that she was looking at him. As he looked into her eyes, his heart ached for her. He had never seen her so lost, but he was going to do whatever he could to fix her broken heart.

"I need to talk to Jason. I need to make things right." Elizabeth continued to rest her head on his shoulder, as he ran his hands through her beautiful blonde hair. "He is pretty mad at me." That was never her intentions. She was only trying to protect her baby boy.

"Jason is going to be fine. I talked to him last night. He'll get over it." Henry assured her. "I'm sure there will be something else we will do to make him mad. It is only a matter of time when it comes to Jason."

Elizabeth chuckled for the first time in what felt like weeks. "That is probably true."

"I should probably get you something to eat. Or maybe you should take that bath now."

"Can we just sit here for a few more minutes?" Elizabeth asked. She sounded almost like a child.

Henry nodded. "Of course we can." He had to admit that it was very nice to hold her so closely. He had missed their embraces, and he would cherish this moment for as long as possible.


Blake sat at his desk trying to focus on his work, but he hadn't been able to focus on anything after seeing Elizabeth so broken. The lost look in her eyes had crushed him.

"Blake," Nadine approached his desk.

"Yes, Nadine." Blake looked up from his computer. "How may I help you?"

"I think you should go home."

"Nadine, I'm fine. Home is the last place I need to go."

"Well fine if you want go home then follow me." Nadine said as she turned to walk away.

"Nadine, I'm fine." Blake argued.

"Blake, now." Nadine said in a tone that Blake couldn't defy.

Blake hurriedly followed Nadine into her office.

Nadine closed her blinds.

"Nadine, what is going on?"

"I thought you could use a drink."

Blake sighed. "You are probably right."

She handed him a glass. "Drink up my friend. It has been a hell of a few weeks."

Blake turned up the glass and quickly drank all of its contents.

"Wow." Nadine smirked. "Would you like another glass?"

"No. If I drink anymore I won't be able to stop." Blake admitted.

"I know seeing her so lost has been hard for you." Nadine sat on the couch next to him.

"That's an understatement." Blake sighed heavily. "She is one of the good guys, you know. I don't want this world to change her."

"Blake, have you met that woman? She's not going to let anything or anyone change her." Nadine chuckled. "When she first started I was convinced she was going to fail. I just knew that she wasn't the right person for this job. The president must have gotten it wrong. She doesn't have a political bone in her body."

"I think…" Blake began to speak, but Nadine stopped him.

"All of the things I disliked about her in the beginning, are all the qualities a person needs to be a good leader. She is exactly what this office and this world needed." Nadine smiled. "I must admit that I was jealous of her, but I realize now that Elizabeth McCord doesn't do anything to make people jealous. She does it because she has the biggest heart and truly wants to change the world. I used to pride myself on being able to read people, but I completely misjudged her. And I'm honored to be a part of her staff. Knowing her has made me a better person."

Blake nodded. He completely agreed. He couldn't imagine working for anyone else.

"What happened in Iran was tragic, and it affected her. We have to give her time, but she won't be broken forever. She is going to get better and before you know it she is going to be back to her old self. This…." Nadine pointed around the office and out of the window. "This won't change her…At least not in a bad way. She is much too strong for that."

"Thank you, Nadine." Blake sat his glass down on the table. "That was exactly what I needed to hear."

"And it was exactly what I've needed to say for some time now." Nadine smiled. "And I'm glad I could say it to you."

"Maybe you should say it to her." Blake smirked. "I'm going to take care of a few more things and then call it a day." Blake walked to the door.

"Hey Blake," Nadine stopped him. "Let me know how she is after you've talked to Dr. McCord."

"Will do." Blake nodded as he walked out of Nadine's office. He was really glad Nadine trusted him. He never would have imagined in the beginning that he would actually like her, but she was turning out to be a very good work friend. And after their conversation he felt more confident in the Secretary's situation. He knew that she would come out on top. She always had before.


Henry sat at his desk trying his best not to ease drop on Elizabeth and Russell's conversation. He wanted to know what Russell was saying. Henry felt the need to protect Elizabeth from anyone he thought might try to hurt her. He knew in the beginning that Russell probably would have done anything to get Elizabeth out of office, but now he wasn't so sure that was true. He felt things were on the mend and that Russell knew how much he and the president needed someone like Elizabeth on their side.

"Hey dad," Allison said as she, Stevie, and Jason walked into the house.

"Hey guys," He stood up to greet them. "You are back earlier than I thought you would be."

"Since I missed most of my classes today, I have some stuff to catch up on." Allison told him.

"Yeah. I actually have some reading to do." Stevie added. "How's mom?"

"She is in the kitchen with Russell Jackson."

All the kids made the same face. They all knew about Russell Jackson and his attitude towards their mother.

"Oh. Is he firing her?" Allison asked in fear. She wasn't sure what she wanted the answer to be and that frightened her even more so.

Henry shook his head. "I don't think the president would win any votes by firing your mother right now." He knew that was true. And he knew that Conrad and Russell knew how bad it would look for his future campaign if she were fired. Henry knew that Elizabeth didn't have to worry about her job. She wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. And that worried him a little bit. Because he knew there would be other trips that might put her in danger. But he knew that he had to be strong for her and for the kids. That was his most important job.

"Well good." Stevie hugged her father one last time, as did Allison.

"Goodnight girls." Henry said as both girls walked up the stairs saying goodnight.

"Dad," Jason had stood back quietly as his dad and his sisters interacted.

"You okay Jase?"

Jason shook his head. "I'm sorry." Jason said in a low voice. "I'm sorry for getting so mad at mom about the security detail. If she wants me to have security for the rest of my life I'm not going to argue with that."

Henry smiled. He didn't believe him. But it was a nice try. "Come here buddy." Henry wrapped his arms around Jason. "She might let you go without security once you turn twenty." Henry joked.

"Hahaha." Jason mocked. "Do you think she knows that I love her?" He asked, sincerely.

"Of course she does." Henry answered quickly. "And she loves you more than you could ever know."

"I should talk to her. I need to apologize."

"I agree, but why don't you wait until in the morning. Today has been a pretty rough day for your mom. I think she needs some rest."

Jason nodded. "Okay."

"I know I keep saying this, but everything is going to be okay. Even if it doesn't feel like it."

"I know. I'm sorry dad." Jason hugged his dad again.

"I love you, Jason." Henry hugged him one last time.

"I love you too, dad." Jason let go of his dad and went upstairs to his room.

For the first time in days, Henry didn't feel so tense.

One day at a time. He kept telling himself. One day at a time.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I kind of lost my muse, but it came back after watching this last episode. It was incredible and probably one of my favorites to date. Tim Daly is fantastic!