March 6, 1986

Elizabeth walked back to her dorm as she soaked in the sunshine from the first warm day in what seemed like forever. She was blissful after just scoring an A on her political science exam and she couldn't wait to tell Henry later that evening when he came over to help her study for her theology test that was coming up in the next few days.

She glanced over her shoulder out of force of habit and breathed a sigh of relief to see now Jacob Peterson behind her. Three weeks since the last time that he followed her. And she felt like she could finally breathe again and not have that worry in the back of her mind. She was grateful for all that the university had done for her to protect her safety, but more importantly, she was grateful for Henry standing beside her through it all.

As she reached her dorm room she flung her backpack on her bed and let out a sigh as she sat at her desk. The week was almost halfway over but it seemed to be moving at a snails pace. She glanced around her desk while her eyes immediately fell at the picture of her and Henry at the park around fall. The leaves were changing colors and they truly seemed happy.

"Crap," she mumbled to herself as she got up and reached for the phone and began to dial the number that she knew so well.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey babe, it's me," she responded.

"Okay good, I was starting to get worried," Henry said with a sigh of relief. "Did you make it back okay?"

"Yes, and see I told you there was nothing to worry about. He hasn't been following me for the a few weeks," Elizabeth said.

"I know but that still doesn't mean that we're in the clear. You know I'm still worried about this entire situation," he replied in a hesitant tone.

"I would be lying if I said that I wasn't, but I'm not scared to walk on campus anymore if that makes you feel better," she said in a sarcastic tone.

"Yes, it does, thank you," he answered with a laugh.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Henry McCord," she replied with a giggle. "I'll see you in a little bit, I love you."

"I'm leaving here in about ten minutes. See you soon, babe," he said before he hung up the phone. Elizabeth went to her bed where she unloaded her books and began to study for that theology test just so she would have some background knowledge before Henry came over. She easily lost track of time until she was interrupted with a knock at the door and a smile immediately spread across her face. She ran over to the door to open it up, assuming that it was Henry, but to her surprise, the only person standing there was Jacob.

**MS**

"Ma'am, you know I normally wouldn't push you for a statement, but us not responding is making it look like you have something to hide," Daisy said as Elizabeth stared blankly out of her office window. Henry sat there and watched his wife wander into her own little world, wishing that he could make all of this go away. He got up and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder suddenly jarring her from her fantasy.

"What?" she asked as she turned to look at her staff.

"I'd be happy to write something up for you, Ma'am," Matt chimed in. "Just tell me what you want me to say and I'll figure it out."

"I appreciate that Matt, thank you," she said with a slight nod. "I really appreciate all that you guys are doing for me with trying to calm down the press and all, but I just…" she trailed off as a sob began to crawl up her throat. Henry squeezed her shoulder as she let a lone tear role down her cheek. Blake handed her a box of tissues and the rest of the staff stood there observing their boss. She was always stoic, showing emotion here and there, but never once let her staff see her cry.

"Ma'am if you're not ready to give a statement yet, Daisy can fight off the press," Nadine said. "I'll keep things running here as smoothly as possible just like it has been until you're ready to return. You don't need to do something that you're not ready to do."

"Babe, why don't we go home. Face this in the morning, you're tired," Henry whispered in her ear as he wiped away another tear that was slowly rolling down her cheek. She took a tissue and began to blot away the mascara that had begun to run and sniffled. "Can you guys give us a minute?" Henry asked. The staff walked away shutting the door, leaving the two of them in her office. "Talk to me. We'll do what you want to do."

"I want to come clean with what happened in college I really do," she managed to say before sniffling once more, "but I don't think I'm ready to put it out there yet. I know I will eventually, but it wasn't supposed to be this soon. The press wasn't supposed to know yet, not until we had a few days to prepare."

"Okay, then lets go home," Henry said as he extended out his hand waiting for his wife to take it.

"I'm sorry I ruined our first night out," she said while looking at her feet.

"Are you kidding? I got to spend my night with the most powerful woman in the country," Henry exclaimed which made his wife smile. "I like to think I'm the luckiest guy in the world. And now I get to go home with her? That's the icing on top of the cake." Elizabeth looked up at him and stood up smoothing out her clothing and took his hand. She placed her free hand on his chest and leaned in for a soft kiss to show her appreciation for him. They walked out of her office only to be greeted by her staff.

"Daisy, fight off the press as much as you can. Tell them that we had no comment about the situation at the moment, and if they ask why, tell them I'm still recovering from the mental anguish that this caused me and my family. Anything to get them off of my back," she said firmly. "I'll give my statement when the time comes, but in the meantime, I need you guys to have my back with all of this. If not just for me, for my family."

"Of course, Ma'am," they all said in unison.

"Thank you, and try to get some rest. It's going to be a long couple of weeks," she said before she and Henry walked down the long hallway to the elevators not ready to face the next couple of weeks themselves.

**MS**

Henry paced downstairs in the kitchen thinking of ways to get ahold of the person who leaked the information to the press about his wife's shooter. If he could just find out who it was…

"Secretary of State, Elizabeth McCord has issued no comments about the information released about her shooter, Jacob Peterson, who supposedly stalked her in college. Her press secretary released this statement earlier this evening, 'The Secretary and her family wish to not comment on the matter due to the mental anguish that this attack has caused her and her family. They are all still in a delicate period in the recovery process and will issue a statement when they see it necessary. They ask you all to respect their privacy through this time as they still attempt to find the strength to move past this life threatening attack.''' the TV reporter had said. Henry turned around and immediately shut the television off, slamming the remote on the countertop causing a loud echo to fill the lower level.

"Dad?" Alison asked from the stairs. Henry looked up at his daughter whose worry and fear was visible on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah Noodle, just go back to bed, it's past midnight," Henry said while going to put the remote by the television.

"I saw that the press attacked you guys at dinner. It was all over the news," she said coming down the steps as she walked over to her father. "Is Mom alright?"

"She's a little shaken up. Her staff was pressuring her to make a statement about it, but she wasn't ready to yet. So they're working really hard to fight them off. She was pretty wiped when we got home so she's already upstairs sleeping. I think her pain medicine knocked her out," Henry said.

"Why do they have to attack her like that? Attack our family like that? She isn't even back at work yet and it's like they're out to get her," Allison said while looking down at the floor.

"Well Noodle, that's essentially their job. They try to pry information out of people to get the best story. And we all know that it's just something that comes with Mom's job whether we like it or not. We knew that the press would get wind of this eventually, we just didn't think it would be this week," he said as he enveloped his daughter in a hug.

"I'm really scared, Dad," she mumbled into his shirt. "What's going to stop anyone else from shooting her? Or shooting one of us?" Henry stood there, lost for words. How was he supposed to explain that there was essentially nothing that they could do except for rely on the security detail to ensure their safety.

"We do what we can, the best that we can, and just hope that it's enough," he said as he placed a kiss on her head. "It's late, let's go up to bed. Henry switched the lights off and walked upstairs with her daughter and watched her crawl into bed before he headed into his bedroom. He stood in the doorway, watching his wife's chest rise and fall for the millionth time this week. A tear fell from his cheek as he thought about the idea of her getting shot again. He stood there, hoping that him doing the best that he could would keep her and his children safe for the rest of his life.

***So I know this update took FOREVER and I apologize! I've been very busy with school and work lately, but I hope that with the holidays approaching that I'll have time to update some more. Don't forget that your comments make my day!***