A/N: The request was Elizabeth/Henry sneak out, away from prying eyes of their security detail. I had to scrap the draft after months of trying to make it work, and what came out was this.
Summary: Adjusting to the job.
Rating: T
Genre: Romance, Family
Elizabeth gasped, angling her neck so as to give her husband access to more skin. Henry trailed a few more kisses down his wife's collar bone.
It was around 5:30 in the morning and the quickie they had agreed on upon waking was starting to be anything but.
A hand caressed Elizabeth's thigh. An article of clothing was lost between the sheets and pillows. Another moan escaped, this time coming from Henry.
There was a buzzing sound by the nightstand.
Elizabeth shot out a hand to grab her phone while Henry continued his ministrations on her thighs.
Sweep in five minutes, ma'am, stated a text from Fred Cole, the head of her security detail.
Since Elizabeth had been appointed Secretary of State a week ago, diplomatic security agents had been texting her everyday about a random time that they had decided to do a sweep on the house for bugs and other electronic dangers.
It was unfortunate that they were choosing to do a sweep in five minutes. She closed her eyes and sighed. This was the first time since she started her new job that she and Henry managed to get any time together.
"Work?" asked Henry, removing his lips from her clavicle and then proceeding to go lower.
Elizabeth bit back another moan. She gripped Henry's hair and gently pulled his head back up to face her. "Fred's sweeping in 5 minutes."
Henry flashed a naughty grin. "I can finish in five minutes. I'll be in and out."
He lowered his head again and Elizabeth pulled him back up before he managed to distract her completely. "I can't. We can't. Ugh." She felt Henry's full weight as he sagged on top of her.
"I'm continuing this later," came his muffled voice.
Elizabeth sympathetically ran her fingers through his hair as she chuckled. "I'm counting on it."
One more kiss and they were both up and putting on their robes. Elizabeth then went out to inform Jason and Alison about the sweep.
She knocked on her daughter's door, saying in a loud voice, "Sweep in five minutes, Noodle." She did the same outside of Jason's room.
Jason came out, an exasperated look on his face. "This is a violation of my constitutional rights. I have the right to refuse entry to any law enforcement officer that doesn't have a warrant to go rifling through my stuff!"
"Jace, it's 5 in the morning."
A startled scream was heard coming from the kitchen, interrupting Jason's comeback. Elizabeth whirled around to find Alison jogging up the staircase. "Thanks for not telling me about the sweep, mom! Now your detail has seen me in my ratty pajamas!"
"But I did—" Elizabeth gestured to her daughter's closed door. "I knocked—I… nevermind."
Alison huffed, marched to her bedroom and then came out with a bathrobe on just as Fred and Agent Matt came up the second floor with scanning devices.
Elizabeth looked at her daughter apologetically before rubbing a hand on the latter's back.
"Morning, ma'am. Morning, Miss McCord, Mr. McCord" said Fred, ignoring Jason's icy glare. There wasn't even a hint on his or Matt's faces that they had seen Ali in her 'ratty pajamas'—a fact that Elizabeth was grateful for.
"Dr. McCord in the bedroom, ma'am?" asked Fred.
"Hmm mm," nodded Elizabeth, "You can go in. He knows you're coming."
Fred proceeded to her bedroom while Matt went towards the opposite direction, towards Jason's room.
"Come on, Noodle," said Elizabeth, putting an arm around Alison. "Let's cook breakfast."
Alison frowned, her thoughts too centered on the embarrassing situation that she neglected to point out her mother didn't have the ability to cook breakfast. "I hate random sweeps," she groaned.
Elizabeth sighed, choosing not to share that she and Henry were also close to being seen in something less than ratty pajamas. "Oh, we'll get used to them… hopefully."
...
Getting used to the security detail didn't appear to be happening anytime soon. Everybody was still getting to know each other.
Jason, for instance, had taken to probing the agents by the front door about state secrets. He did this every morning before going to school. The agents would smile and reply with some detail that Jason could never be sure was factual or made up for the purpose of humoring him.
Nevertheless, the morning interrogation was something he looked forward to.
Elizabeth, on the other hand, was hell bent on "hazing" her detail. She wanted to test their limits, see how far she can get away with certain things, and especially determine Fred Cole's flexibility and responsiveness on the job.
She had already discovered during the first week that sneaking out under Fred's eye would be impossible. The man was very protective. She surmised it had something to do with the previous Secretary of State's death.
This week, however, she had something planned to make him loosen up a bit.
She opened the front door one early Tuesday morning, delighted to see that her agents weren't going to go jogging in a suit and tie but had changed into some jogging pants as well.
"Ready to sweat it, boys?" she asked, slipping on a pair of sunglasses.
"We'll be close by, ma'am," said Fred kindly.
Elizabeth nodded and then started her morning run. She and the agents jogged out of the neighborhood and were soon entering the local park.
There were already the usual early joggers present and she waited to pass between a group of elderly people before she sped off in a sudden bout of speed, leaving her detail significantly behind.
She glanced back, satisfied that she had a moment to herself for a while before she saw Fred catching up.
Elizabeth barked a laugh before dashing away again.
A few minutes later, she collapsed on a bench, out of breath from running too fast and laughing at the same time. Fred was standing beside her, having successfully caught up. The two other agents were still another bench away but were nearing them.
"Ma'am," said Fred in an admonishing tone after taking two gulps of air.
Elizabeth broke into giggles and finally, Fred let a grin break out on his face too.
Elizabeth wagged a finger at him. "I really thought I was going to lose you around that corner."
"You almost did, ma'am," said Fred, letting out a few chuckles himself. It was rare that Elizabeth ever saw him good humored. "Although, I would like to ask that you never repeat that stunt, Madam Secretary. I'm just trying to do my job."
"I know, I know." Elizabeth said. She rose to her feet and patted Fred on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. I appreciate what you're doing. But you need to loosen up a bit, Fred. Those elderly ladies wouldn't have kidnapped me. I'm former CIA, you know."
"So you keep reminding me."
"Hey, at least now we know Kendall and Matt need to do some more track training."
She jogged in place and then together, she and Fred started off once more, but this time at a normal pace, discussing family and interests as they did so.
Having running buddies may not be so bad, Elizabeth thought.
…
After the Hazing Incident, Elizabeth was under the impression that she was finally getting used to the presence of her detail. She got to know them more as days passed and she was even exchanging a few jokes with them.
She should have known it was going to be short-lived.
It was the weekend—a relatively stress-free weekend which Elizabeth was very thankful for.
"Hi, mom! You're home early," noted Alison as she came up to her mother, who had just walked in the front door, and gave her a welcoming kiss on the cheek.
"Yes, I know!" replied Elizabeth, a wide smile on her face. She quickly scanned the living room as she dropped her bags to the floor. "Is everyone home? Jason? Dad?"
"Yep. Why?"
Elizabeth's eyes lit up. She cupped her hands around her mouth and cried out, "JASON! HENRY!" She turned to Alison, "I want everybody down here. We are going to go out! We haven't been out as a family ever since I got this crazy job and I miss everyone so much!"
Alison giggled. "Out? As in just us? No security guys?"
"Unfortunately, they're part of Team McCord now."
Alison's smile fell. It couldn't be any clearer that she wasn't too keen on being seen with her mom's security detail.
"Oh, come on, baby! I know you don't like it when they're around but can we not make an issue out of it tonight? It's my only free time to hang out with you guys."
"Okay, okay!" Alison said, raising her hands in defeat.
"Thank you!" Elizabeth called after her daughter as Alison walked up the staircase.
Alison ran into her brother and father upon reaching the landing.
"Hey, what did mom want?" asked Jason.
"McCord bonding time," Alison replied, squeezing herself between the two men, eager to get a change of clothes in the shortest amount of time as possible.
"McCord bonding time? Yay," said Henry before continuing down the steps.
After ten minutes, they were all ready to leave. They drove to their destination: an ice cream parlor that Henry and Elizabeth frequented in college.
There was a small weekend crowd, but it wasn't too packed as to prevent the family plus security to get a table. Unfortunately, it also meant that their party attracted attention, especially with Agent Matt's bulky frame.
Many customers began to murmur and stare and Elizabeth caught a few speculative words along the lines of "celebrity," "rich mogul," and a correct identification of "the Secretary of State." She tried her hardest to ignore it, focusing instead on coming up with some really good ice cream combination.
Alison was quietly standing by her side, not wanting to ruin the evening for her mother. But her silence, which was uncharacteristic of her personality, only dampened Elizabeth's mood.
"I hate this!" she growled to Henry later that evening in the privacy of their bedroom. "Nobody would have noticed us if it weren't for my detail! Did you see Alison's face? I could tell she was upset."
She yanked off her shoes and carelessly tossed them to the ground.
"Our first time out as a family since forever! The one free night away from work!" Henry watched as Elizabeth started to aggressively unbutton her blouse. If she wasn't careful, she was going to rip her favorite top and then be more upset.
He grabbed her hands, stilling them in their angry treatment of her buttons. He placed them at her side and unbuttoned her blouse for her.
"And that toddler throwing napkins at Fred to get his attention," Elizabeth went on. "If that kid's parents didn't stop him I might have maybe, I don't know, lobbed a tissue back in his face."
When Henry was done, she took off her blouse and it joined her shoes on the floor.
She slumped down on the bed, twiddling with her skirt. "I signed up for this Henry. But the kids didn't. You should've seen Alison, glumly eating her strawberry ice cream. Eating ice cream is supposed to be a happy moment!" She looked up at her husband desperately. "You're supposed to tell me this is going to get better."
Henry gazed down at his wife before joining her on their bed. "This isn't about entirely about ice cream, is it?"
There was silence.
"No," came Elizabeth's soft reply. She let out a deep breath and then said, "I'm not used to the attention any more than Ali is and I don't want it any more than she does. We're not… I was an analyst. I was the one observing people, studying them. But this time, it's the other way around and it's… new... and disconcerting... and takes some getting used to."
She looked away from Henry, feeling a bit ashamed for admitting her insecurity out loud. Did she make the right decision for herself, for her family in choosing this job?
"You should have seen me out in my morning run with the guys last time. It was perfect. They were in workout clothes, they blended in—it felt normal, almost like hanging out with friends. Except, you know, they can kill people."
Henry chuckled. "Well, maybe that's why. Jogging isn't something work related. Neither were Fred and the others wearing their uniform which made for a very casual experience." He nudged her gently. "Why don't you talk to Fred and make a deal with him? Plain clothes when we're out on personal matters and a uniform during your office hours… at least until everybody adjusts and gets used to your new job."
Elizabeth nodded slowly, letting the idea sink in. Her lips formed a smile. "You always have the best ideas, Dr. McCord." Both husband and wife leaned closer towards each other, reducing the distance between them.
"I have another great idea," said Henry in a low voice.
"Show me."
Eager lips met and Henry resumed his earlier actions of undressing his wife.
There was a buzzing sound.
Henry groaned, breaking away from Elizabeth. "Really? Now?"
"You know, if this wasn't random, I'd really think Fred's hell bent on keeping us apart." She stood up and retrieved her phone from her handbag.
"Sweep in five minutes," she read.
"Give me that," instructed Henry, grabbing the phone from Elizabeth's hands.
"What are you doing?"
Henry pressed a few keys and then sent the message. "I just bought us thirty minutes."
"I love you."
…
Two months later, a very familiar buzzing sound filled the master bedroom.
Henry picked up his wife's phone, read the message, and put it back down on the nightstand.
"Babe," he called out to Elizabeth who was busy with her appearance in the bathroom. "Sweep in 5 minutes."
"Uh-huh," came the reply, his wife being too focused on taming her cowlick.
Henry chuckled, shaking his head. Who would have thought she would be too used to things that Elizabeth barely even noticed it now when Fred entered to do his daily sweep.
Henry left the room to repeat the message to his kids.
He knocked on his daughter's door and then poked his head in. "Noodle? Sweep in five minutes."
"I'll be out in a second!"
Jason came out of his room, looking too mischievous at 6 in the morning and especially on a school day.
"I set out some booby traps for Matt," he stated proudly.
"Jace," warned Henry. "Putting spying devices is like saying bomb jokes at the airport."
"Just this once, please! I even made an effort to read some conspiracy theories out loud!"
"Give it up, big guy."
Jason huffed and drawled out a long, "Fiiine," before disappearing in his room to get said booby traps.
He came out the same time Fred and Matt arrived. He dropped three small devices on Henry's outstretched palm.
"This is what you spend your allowance on?" asked Henry. "Go downstairs and eat your breakfast, please."
Jason trudged down, duly chastised.
Alison finally came out of her room. Pajamas were visible underneath a bathrobe. "All yours, Fred."
"Thanks, Miss McCord."
"Please. It's Alison," she corrected politely before following Jason down to the kitchen.
Henry smiled to himself. Looks like people are getting more used to the presence of the security detail around the house.
He walked back to his bedroom, all the while wondering if he can tempt Elizabeth to join him in the shower.
Probably not. She won't want me messing up that cowlick.
A/N: Tell me what you think!