No Love Without Sacrifice
Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weakness. Elizabeth McCord didn't take things for granted. Especially not when it came to her family and her new job as Secretary of State. But sometimes she felt as if she was dropping the ball in what was meant to be the most important thing her life.
Love, love Madam Secretary and sadly I don't own a thing! Just my love for Hannah and the show!
In honor of the show coming back today I thought it was fit for an update, so sorry for taking forever between chapters but my last semester of college is really taking a toll on me and whenever I want to just sit and write something comes up.. anyhow...
Chapter 9:
Elizabeth woke up gasping for air. It was dark, probably early morning when she opened her eyes. Henry was beside her as he felt her shift in bed. "Babe?"
"Go back to sleep." She whispered kindly.
"Another nightmare huh?" Henry had been in war. He knew what a experience like that could do to someone. And yes, his wife was the strongest woman he knew but this wasn't something she was ready for her to face, neither did he want her to.
"It´s nothing."
"You really want a tell a Navy Pilot that having nightmares is nothing?" He mused. ""Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart." Elizabeth smiled.
"The alchemist?" She turned to her side so she was facing her husband.
"I've got more from where that came from." He turned all serious again. "Really babe. I just want you to be okay..." She was about to protest when he shushed her. "I know you keep telling me you are but..."
"Then you just have to believe me." She told him. "Please Henry, I just need some time."
"You? Are having two babies?" Isabelle mused. "I can't believe it... I mean, how?"
"Do you really want logistics?" Elizabeth turned to look at Henry who shot her a glance.
"Are you okay?" Her friend asked.
"Yes, I feel fine, the doctor said it's still early to be able to tell if there's any dangers for me or the babies but she's optimistic."
"Good. And what do the kids think?"
"We still haven't told them there's two babies, an unless Jason wraps his head around the idea, he isn't going to like it. Not at first anyway."
"He'll come around to it." Isabelle told him.
"Sure, even more when we tell him he's having a little brother... I hope..." Henry mused.
"Affected by the girls huh?"
"Hey! It does no harm to dream." Henry smiled.
"Babe?" It was the second time that week since coming back from Iran that Henry had found Elizabeth in the attic of their home, in the midst of Christmas decorations and old college papers. "What are you doing up here?"
She was curled up in a ball, her back against the wall, in the middle of two boxes. Each one with a twin's name. It had been so long since they had opened either of them...except when Hannah had a show and tell at school a few months back and had wanted to show his classmates how she had a brother who was an angel. Henry had taken care of the ordeal since Elizabeth had been on a trip and they didn't talk about it much, they really didn't anymore.
"Lizzie." Henry crouched down to her level, she held one of Nicholas's baby blankets in her hands as she sank down and cry. It was the middle of the night and here, the kids couldn't hear her, she could indulge in her misery and go back to work as if she was able to conquer the world but in reality her world was crumbling down... just as it had two years ago. "You can''t keep doing this to yourself babe."
She barely looked at him. It was as if he wasn't there. "I couldn't save him..." she gasped as Henry held her.
"Shhh..." Henry kissed her forehead as he tried to keep his feelings in check, but lately that was proving to be really hard. "There wasn't anything you could have done, anyone for that matter, you know that."
"He was my baby Henry, I should have known something was wrong..." She sniffed. "I should have done everything I could to save him."
"And you did..." Henry's lumpy throat hurt and his eyes got watery. "You know you did. And Nicholas knew how much you loved him. How much we all did."
"I see you are not alone today..." Dr. Reynolds mused as she saw Elizabeth and Henry had brought their children along, 8 year old Jason, 11 year old Ally and 15 year old Stevie.
"Well we are all excited to find out who's wining what." Elizabeth told her doctor. "All in the spirits of good fun of course."
"Of course." she smiled widely. She got the ultrasound ready. A moment later, the monitor showed both babies, Jason's eyes widened... "
Do they argue in there?" he asked. "It's really tiny...I bet they are kicking each other all the time." Elizabeth smiled.
"Not so different from you and your sisters, huh mister?"
"Right, that's why it will be two boys this time..." Jason said in a matter of facty way.
" Not so fast Jason. want to know who won the bet?" Jason's eyes lighted up. "It appears its a tie."
"Huh? There's more than two babies in there?" Jason asked.
"No. It seems you'll be having one of each..."
Elizabeth glanced at Henry. Her eyes were teary as she squeezed his hand.
"Everything seems to be going according to plan. but..."
"Is something wrong?" Stevie asked.
"No, nothing is, but we do need to be careful as it appears one of the babies is smallest than the other, so we all want them to be able to come full term as premature births with twins is pretty common,
"I always did say he looked just like you..." Henry smiled as they both looked down on Nicholas's face, he had blonde hair and deep blue eyes.
"But he was as zen as you were..." Liz told him.
"I am Zen?"
"Yeah. One hundred percent babe."
"Well maybe tat was what helped him too, you know? That he was just so calm all the time." Henry admitted. "Unlike his sister."
"Who would have thought she'd be the one to stay with us huh?"
I know its a bit too short but we are getting close to find out what really happened to that blue eyed little boy. Hint, I recently watched a movie that inspired me to add this twist to the story, hoping you are liking it. Next chapter, Elizabeth's denial hits a new low as she lands herself in the hospital...
I'm hoping to update next week if possible... Saturday or Sunday... until then I hope this keeps you on your toes.
