A/N: This chapter, isn't exactly eventful but it kind of has a shocker of an ending. Hope you all enjoy :)
"I miss Momma…" Aubrey all but whimpers as she climbs into her red haired mother's lap. She wipes begins rubbing her eyes attempting to keep her tears at bay but it's to no use as they begin forming and rolling down her cheeks.
Casey sighs quietly and places a gentle kiss to her daughter's head before she begins stroking her cheeks, wiping away the tears. "I'm sorry, that you miss her honey." She responds quietly before sighing once again. "I miss her too."
"I want to go home." Aubrey murmurs into Casey's shoulder.
"Home?" Casey echoes, running her fingers through Aubrey's long hair, making a mental note that they should probably get it trimmed soon.
"I wanna go home." Aubrey repeats, pulling away so she can look into her mother's eyes. "With Momma. I like staying with Miss Rena, and Abbie, and Charlie, but I wanna go be with Momma at home. I miss her."
Casey nervously bites down on her bottom lip before she sighs and shakes her head. "We can't go home yet, Aubrey. We need to stay just a little while longer." she explains. It has just been over a week since Megan's incident with the hospital, and Casey would be lying if she said that she wasn't becoming a wreck with each passing day.
Aubrey's lip quivers for a moment before she bursts into to full on sobs, returning to Casey's shoulder as she is soon rocked and soothed. "I want Momma! I wanna go home to Momma! I want Momma!"
"Aubrey please." Casey says with exasperation and exhaustion in her voice. "Please, calm down, Sweetie, it'll be alright."
"No it won't because I won't see Momma ever again!" the youngest Cabot replies, on the verge of a full on fit.
"What's going on in here?" Serena asks gently as she pokes her head into the bedroom, stepping aside long enough for Megan to slip through and join her family on the bed.
"She wants to go home." Casey explains, continuing to wipe her youngest daughter's tears.
At the mention of this, Megan scowls deeply and sends a glare towards her sister. "Aubrey, what's wrong with you; are you stupid? We can't go back there, she doesn't want us there. Why would you want to go back?"
Aubrey pulls away from Casey to round on her sister, as she begins rubbing angrily at her eyes. "No it's not! Momma loves us and you-you need to stop saying bad things about her when Mommy's not around because that's not nice! I want to go home!"
"Well we can't so you're just going to have to learn to deal with it!"
"No! I want to go to Momma!"
"Girls please!" Casey nearly shouts, breaking up the quarrel between her children. "As long as I am here there will be no fighting between the two of you, understand? Serena, can you please give us a minute?"
Serena nods solemnly before sending her friend a small reassuring smile. "Let me know if you need anything." she says gently before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
Casey gently removes Aubrey from her lap before giving her girls a rather pointed look. "Listen, you two will not fight like, do you understand? Now is most definitely not the time for you to be fighting and to be completely honesty, I'm not sure I can take it." She explains before turning to Megan specifically. "I am still highly disappointed in you and do not think that you are off the hook for that little stunt that you've been pulling behind my back. I spoke with Abbie and she recommended a very good friend of hers that's a therapist and you are going to start having sessions with her."
"Mom, no! Therapy!?" Megan explains before throwing her hands up in frustration. "I'm not crazy, I just wanted to see what it was like."
"And you seeing what it was like could have gotten you killed. You are going to start going to those therapy lessons and that is the end of this discussion."
Megan attempts to hold her mother's glare but she cracks under the pressure and she folds her arms tightly as she looks away. "Fine." She mumbles, though there is a small hint of defiance in her voice. "But that doesn't mean I want to go home. I don't want to go back there just to be ignored."
"But I want Momma!" Aubrey exclaims again, hoping that Casey isn't going to give in to Megan's shameless argument. "Mommy, I miss her…"
"Not like she misses you." Megan mumbles rolling her eyes.
"Megan, you are not helping the situation." Casey warns shaking her head before she sighs. "Aubrey, I realize that you want to go home, but right now I'm not sure if it's the best time."
A fresh batch of tears spring to Aubrey's eyes and spill out over her cheeks. "But Mommy, I miss her so much." She whimpers quietly, this time not bothering to wipe her tears. "I want to go home, Mommy. I don't want to run away anymore. I want to go back."
Casey bites down on her bottom lip once again as she begins wondering if this is a sign sent in the form of her six year old that she does need to go back and have a talk with Alex. As much as she would verbally deny it, she can't help the sinking feeling in her chest every time she begins imagining her life without the blonde in it. She knows that she can't exactly run forever and there is going to be a time that she's going to have to stand up and face the problem. She also knows that each moment she spends away from her wife, she's destroying her kids. Aubrey has made it clear of what she wants, and it is clear to Casey that Megan is in desperate need of her mother's attention, no matter how many time she would claim hatred toward the woman.
"Case, there's something you might wanna see." Serena calls from the living room.
When Casey enters the living room with her children in tow, she spots Serena curled up on the couch while Abbie and Charlie make themselves comfortable on the floor in front of the set.
"What's going on?" the redhead asks with a small amount of confusion, her eyes widening when she looks to the screen to find Alex standing on a stage behind the podium sporting the presidential seal with the news headline reading 'Important Presidential Address'. "Oh my god. What is this about?"
"We don't know, it hasn't started yet." Abbie explains, looking up. "But we thought you would want to see it."
"Well you thought wrong." Casey retorts, spinning around only for Serena's voice to call her back.
"Casey, will you at least listen to what she has to say?" Serena sighs, patting the spot on the couch next to her. "It might be something important."
"You underestimate Alex's meaning of importance."
Meanwhile…
Alex takes a deep breath to calm her beating heart and nervously rubs her palms together only to realize they're sweating. Swallowing thickly, she winces at the acidic taste in her mouth only for the thick lump to return a few moments later along with the churning in her stomach.
"Ma'am, are you ready?" her advisor asks, noting his clipboard. "It's about time to start."
"Yes, I'm ready." She nods, taking a deep breath as she follows the man out onto the stage. The immediate onslaught of noise and camera flash 'pops' is almost deafening as she stands off to the side, waiting for her advisor to adjust the various microphones on the podium.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States."
Once again the onslaught of noise and flashes is ridiculous as Alex steps up to the podium. She takes a much needed deep breath for confidence as she holds up her hand, patiently waiting for the auditorium to quiet down.
"Um…this, well this isn't a typical presidential address. For once it doesn't have to do with the fundamentals of politics or promises for a better country; it's none of that." she pauses briefly before continuing on. "As I'm sure everyone here knows about the allegations made towards me, and I will not deny the fact that they are true. I…I did have an affair with my assistant and I did cheat on my wife. I cheated on my wife, I cheated on my family, and I am no longer going to try to sneak my way around it. I know that as the president all of you are supposed to look to me to lead you, but the truth is, I'm not perfect. I'm far from it. Ever since I was elected, I have done things that I am not proud of and I will spend the rest of my life taking them back. I have hurt the people that are closet to me in my life and I am honestly standing here wondering if there is even a chance that I am going to get them back. I messed up. I have presented myself in a way that is completely unacceptable and I for that, I must apologize to each and every one of you. How I have acted…it's no way for a president to act, let alone the one that you elected to lead this country and I haven't done my job. But most importantly, I have not done my job as a wife or as a mother. Not too long ago, I made a promise to my youngest daughter that I would take her to feed the ducks at the lake only to break this promise the very same day. I was so caught up with myself that I had completely missed spending time with my family, and I had no idea that my oldest had an interest in playing sports. I neglected spending time with my wife, and I wasn't there for her like I should've been…"
"Casey this was a bad idea. You should've stayed home." Abbie whispers having to jog behind the redhead to keep up."
"She's confessing on national television in front of the entire country Abbie." Casey responds, spinning around nearly knocking her children over in the process. "The least I could do is be here for her."
Abbie sighs quietly before running a hand through her hair. "I know that, but don't run off from me like that. It's my job to keep you safe and I can't do that with you fifty paces ahead of me."
Alex briefly glances off to the side, her words faltering when she spots her wife in a hushed, heated argument with Abbie. Her mouth hangs open resembling a fish for a brief moment before she and Casey make eye contact, long enough for to subtly nod. Seeing her family slowly wander out onto the stage, she completely forgets about the address as she lowers herself to her knees in front of them.
"Casey, I…I know that I messed up and you have every right to leave me for it." She begins, her voice cracking with emotion. "But I'm begging you, on my knees begging you in front of everyone here to please give me the opportunity to make it up to you. That's all I want. I just want the chance."
Casey purses her lips tightly, pulling Alex to her feet before pulling her close enough so they can share a private conversation. "You want the chance to make it up to me?" she says into the blonde's ear, continuing on once she feels Alex nod shakily. "Then resign."
Do I sense an ultimatum? Hm….leave your thoughts!
