Merry late Christmas, everyone! And since I probably won't update before then, an early Happy New Year! I hope everyone's having a great holiday season, I know I am :) Thank you all for all your support on the last chapter, I really appreciated them. And in response to a review on my last chapter - since it's an inside joke among West Wing fans that the characters watch a show where our politicians are characters on a TV show they watch, so that's the case here :) Anyway, enjoy the chapter and review if I should keep going - let me know what you like :)
Chapter 14: Valentine's Day and Chickens
"And with over 90% of the votes in, we are prepared to call the South Carolina Democratic primary for former Vice President Bob Russell, who wins with 39% of the vote. Texas Congressman Matt Santos finishes second with 36%..."
Finn groaned as he fell backwards on to the couch in the suite where the campaign staff was watching the South Carolina returns. This week had been a lot like the weeks in Iowa and New Hampshire: stump events and rallies with speeches by the candidate almost every day, going door to door and making phone calls... but the ending of the night was like the end of the night in New Hampshire, not like Iowa.
"It was a smaller gap than in Iowa," Rachel said to Finn.
"Yeah," Finn sighed. He could tell by the look on Rachel's face that she was upset. Two losses in a row. They had one win. Russell had two. From the beginning, Russell was expected to be the nominee. But Russell didn't have what it took to be president. Sure, he would be better than Vinick, but he wouldn't be great. Matt Santos would be a great president.
"I thought Russell was starting to get threatened by Matt," Rachel told Finn. "Hey, before we really started taking off, I heard Russell had even started talking about potential vice presidents..."
"Did your dad tell you that?" Finn asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said. "We've been working so hard..." She looked over at Josh. "Where's Matt?"
"He's on the phone with Russell," Josh said.
Once again, their candidate had been the one to make the call. "We've been working so hard," Rachel repeated.
"He still has some delegates and the Iowa victory," Josh said. "Russell was Vice President under a president from New Hampshire, and for whatever reason he's always been popular in the south..."
"Said president from New Hampshire endorsed Matt, not Russell," Finn pointed out.
"We're heading to Florida tomorrow for the next one," Josh said. "It's the first big state. If we do win Florida, it could help us make the voters and the media remember that we aren't done. Bartlet really took off after winning Illinois."
Finn still was feeling nervous. Two candidates had already withdrawn. And this conversation was taking longer than usual... "Then we have Nevada, and then Super Tuesday..."
"Wait until after Super Tuesday to panic," Josh said.
Finn turned to Rachel and pulled her in for a hug. Neither of them said much. When Matt came out, Rachel and Finn looked over. "Don't give up yet," Finn said. "You should have won today."
"Russell asked me to withdraw and throw my support behind him in exchange for a position in the cabinet," Matt said.
Finn had admit, that did mean Russell was still intimidated by this campaign. "But you didn't agree to that, right?" Rachel asked.
"I'm in this for the long haul," Matt said. "Now, I do have a concession speech to give..."
The worst part of the night in New Hampshire had been the concession speech. That would probably be the worst part tonight, too.
x
It was very warm in Florida, just like it had been in South Carolina, almost as if it was a signal that good things were coming. That hadn't been the case in South Carolina - good things hadn't happen. But hopefully that would be the case here.
There was one good thing though - this was Finn and Rachel's first Valentine's Day since they got back together. Finn had requested Valentine's Day off so he could have the whole day to spend with Rachel. He didn't know if she even remembered that it was Valentine's Day coming with the campaign in full swing, but he wanted it to be a special day for them, especially after the disappointments in New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Finn had texted Rachel, asking her to meet him at the beach near the hotel the campaign was staying at. He was sure that this would be a great day for him and Rachel, even if there were rough times coming for the campaign.
Finn sat at the beach, waiting for Rachel to arrive. They'd only had one Valentine's Day together as a couple. Sophomore year, she'd been with Jesse. Junior year, they were fresh off their breakup and Finn was pursuing Quinn. Even Valentine's Day senior year hadn't been perfect, with the "party" Rachel's dads had thrown them to convince them not to get married and their argument about the future. Finn spent Valentine's Day 2013 at Mr. Schue's wedding attempt, and in 2014 and 2015, he'd been on two bad dates with girls from University of Lima.
Today would be a good one though. He knew it.
Here she came, wearing a beautiful striped dress, carrying a gift bag. Finn hadn't mentioned Valentine's Day to Rachel in the past week, hoping to make the surprise even more special. But with Rachel carrying the bag, it looked like she remembered, too.
"Hey!" Finn said, giving Rachel a hug. "Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Happy Valentine's Day," Rachel said, hugging Finn back. "I got you a few things."
"You did?" Finn asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said, handing Finn the bag. "I know gifts aren't normally exchanged for Valentine's Day, but we missed so many Christmases and birthdays... I wanted to make up for it."
Finn opened the bag. There was a box of chocolates, tickets to opening day of baseball season and the latest CD of an up-and-coming rock band he'd been liking. "Wow, thank you so much Rachel." He gave her a hug. "I love you."
"I love you too," Rachel said. "And we'll be in Ohio for the primary there on opening day, so it's perfect."
"It is perfect," Finn said. "I got you something, too." He handed Rachel a bouquet of flowers and a giftwrapped box, smiling when she opened it to reveal a box of chocolate of her own, plus a pair of turquoise earrings to match the necklace and bracelet he'd gotten her for her birthday and Christmas. "Finn, you spoil me."
"It's my job, as your boyfriend," Finn said.
"I love hearing you say that again," Rachel said.
"Well, I love getting to say it again," Finn said, kissing Rachel again. He held out his hand. "Walk down the beach with me?"
"Of course," Rachel said, taking Finn's hand. "This is a nice break from all the snow and cold."
"Yeah, I don't think I've ever walked barefoot in February before," Rachel added. She and Finn began walking down the beach together, the waves crashing at their feet. Then she knelt down and drew a heart in the sand and wrote "Finchel" in it.
"Awww!" Finn said. "We came up with that."
"Yes we did," Rachel said as she kissed Finn. "Maybe during our break tomorrow we should go swimming here..."
"You just want to see me in my swimsuit, don't you?" Finn asked.
"You're telling me you wouldn't like to see me in a bikini?" Rachel shot back.
"Well..." Finn began to tease Rachel. "Who am I kidding, of course I do."
"That's what I thought," Rachel said, splashing Finn's legs with some water.
"You know, if you weren't fully clothed, I could throw you into the water," Finn smirked.
"You wouldn't dare!" Rachel gasped.
"Try me," Finn shot back.
"You're lucky I love you," Rachel said. "You're the only one I let tease me."
"Aren't I lucky?" Finn asked.
"You are," Rachel said. "But I'm luckier."
"We'll see if you think that when we get to the next part of our surprise," Finn said. He pointed to a restaurant on the pier. "That's where we're having lunch."
x
The meal at the pier restaurant was probably the best Rachel had ever had, and after lunch, they had decided to go back to the beach for some swimming. She was most excited about what she'd planned for tonight though. She'd wanted to keep Finn out of their hotel room all afternoon and had enlisted the help of some of their single friends from the campaign to set up the room (most of them were going out tonight with other staff members, but they agreed to do it for Finn and Rachel before they went out). When Rachel and Finn got back to the hotel, Rachel smiled as she opened the door. Everything was just as she'd wanted it. Slow romantic music was playing. She'd bought some streamers and balloons to hang up. There were flowers and candles in the center of the table, with two glasses filled with champagne. All Rachel needed was the room service food to arrive.
"Wow," Finn said softly. "Rachel, you put this together?"
"Yeah," Rachel said, smiling up at Finn. "I wanted to do something special for us, for our first Valentine's Day back together."
"So we both had plans for today for each other, but kept them private," Finn pointed out.
"Yeah," Rachel said. "We still think alike."
"Yes, we do," Finn said.
Rachel heard a knock on the door and a call that room service was here. She opened the door and brought in the food. "That smells really good," Finn said. "What did you order?"
"All your favorites," Rachel said, smiling at Finn.
"You're the best girlfriend ever," Finn said.
"Well, you're the best boyfriend ever," Rachel said.
After dinner, the bed was looking VERY appealing to both Finn and Rachel. Like at the wedding, they stared at the bed, and then at each other, pulled off their clothes, and crawled into the bed. Rachel pulled the covers over her and Finn once they were under the covers, leaning in to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love you too," Finn said, moving closer into Rachel.
"Harder," Rachel whispered.
"I can go harder," Finn said.
"Then I'm not stopping you," Rachel whispered.
"It feels good, what can I say?" Finn whispered.
x
Finn and Rachel had tired each other out in that bed on Valentine's Day - in fact, the bed brace had broken because of what had been going on in it. When Finn and Rachel realized what a wreck the bed had become, they were a bit embarrassed, offered to pay the hotel for the damages, and hoped their supervisors wouldn't find out.
Of course, there were other things on everyone else's minds. The primary was the 15th, and all night, the TV anchors kept saying that this was close - closer than anyone had thought it would be and closer than any of the races had been so far. The room was silent. This was important... the first of the big states, the campaign needing to make up for New Hampshire and South Carolina...
"In the closest race so far of the Democratic primaries, it's a three-peat for Former Vice President Bob Russell. He takes 40 percent of the Florida vote to Texas Congressman Matt Santos's 39 percent. In fact, the third straight victory for Russell makes Santos's Iowa victory look like a long time ago..." the TV anchor began.
Finn groaned. Another loss. He couldn't bear to listen to the TV anchor anymore, who was sounding more and more like Russell was the sure bet for the Democratic nomination. He just looked over at Rachel, who looked ready to cry.
"Hey," Finn said, pulling Rachel in for a hug.
Rachel tightened the hug without saying anything. "They're trying to write him off!" she finally said.
"This isn't okay," Finn said. He didn't know what else to say. He wasn't okay with this - but they'd been waiting all night. Like it or not, this was happening. Bob Russell had three primary victories. Matt Santos had one.
x
"I'm not even going to bother talking to my dad," Rachel said as she and Finn skyped with their friends in New York. "I don't want to talk to him. He'll probably rub this in my face."
"There have only been four primaries so far," Kurt said. "It's not over."
"Russell's acting like it is," Finn said. "And now that Super Tuesday's coming up, we need to get to every state. We spent a week at a time in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida, and in three of those states, that wasn't enough to win, despite all the work we did there. How are we supposed to make real connections when we only get a day or two?" He didn't want to give up. But he was still stressed. The campaign had just gotten to Utah - a state that Finn and Rachel were sure was a waste of time to be spending time in. Utah had voted 78% for Vinick in 2012, but it was a state for Super Tuesday, so they needed to spend some time there.
"If it means anything, there's a lot of Santos supporters here in New York," Sam said. "You can't go up and down the street without seeing a Santos sign in a window, or someone with a Santos shirt or button..."
"Yeah, we probably see the most stuff for him out of anyone," Artie added.
"I guess that's a good thing," Rachel said.
"Of course it is," Kurt said. "You guys shouldn't be so hard on yourselves..."
"The country needs him," Rachel said. "He's the real deal. He's the one this country has been waiting for..."
"My parents would be ashamed to think that I'm considering voting for a Democrat," Kitty said.
"Seriously, he does have the best takes on the issues," Blaine said. "Not to mention he's sexy as fuck..."
"Stop it, Blaine!" Kurt shrieked as the others laughed.
"Are you two okay though?" Blaine asked. "As okay as you can be, anyway? You both look so sad..."
Finn and Rachel weren't okay. They never expected to get this invested, neither of them had been this involved in a campaign before. But they were. "Hopefully, you will be."
"I can't believe this country elected Vinick once, let alone they might twice," Santana said. "Are the American people REALLY that naive?"
"I hope not," Rachel said.
"We're doing our part here," Artie said. "We've been making some phone calls."
"Thanks, guys," Rachel said.
"You'll be okay, and the campaign will be okay," Sam said. "At this time next year, Matt Santos will be president, and Arnold Vinick will be unemployed."
Finn and Rachel used to be the ones with that optimism. Thanks to the three primary losses, they weren't anymore.
"Vinick will be in New York tomorrow," Rachel said. "You guys better look out."
x
After the Salt Lake City rally, the campaign went out to dinner. The crowd had still been supportive, and it was comforting, to some extent, to know that even in arguably the most conservative state in the nation, there were Santos supporters. Rachel figured maybe it was the little things that mattered. She was feeling better, Finn seemed to be doing better and lots of the other staff members - including the candidate himself - seemed to be doing better.
Until they saw Vinick walking over to their table. "They're here again?" Finn whispered to Rachel. "This is the third time he's been in the same city as us! If he wasn't the president, he wouldn't be getting away with it..."
"Hi, Mr. President," Matt said, standing to greet his opponent.
"Hi Congressman," Vinick said. "I just wanted to say congratulations."
"Congratulations?" Matt asked.
"You finished second in three primaries," Vinick said.
Was this the president showing a soul? Rachel felt shocked. But then Vinick continued talking. "You know, nobody thought you were going to ever get out of the single digits. You did. That Iowa win was a fluke. You're not going to be president. You've had your fun. Russell is going to get the nomination. Everyone knew that from the beginning. You were only kidding yourself and your staff and your supporters..."
"Mr. President, remember what I told you last time I saw you?" Matt asked. "We aren't in high school. Stop acting like it."
"You are so pathetic," Vinick continued. "There is no place for your wide-eyed idealism in Washington. You were never fit to be in congress, let alone be president. I'm going to tell you how this is going to work. I get re-elected and you get humiliated..."
"You didn't hear what I just said, did you?" Matt asked. "In the elections where I ran for congress, candidates spoke to each other civilly."
"Mr. President, we should really go now," said one of the secret service agents. "Congressman Santos is right. You're not acting very presidential right now, you're acting like you're in high school, and that's how you've been acting since the campaign cycle started. And we've all had enough."
As he started to leave, Vinick looked over at his opponent. "Have you, Matt? Have you finally had enough?"
Rachel scanned the table after the president and secret service left. Finn had a look of disgust, as did most of the other staff members - but the candidate himself looked more hurt than angry.
x
"With the Nevada caucus coming up in two weeks, a candidate would have to win here and win a majority of states on Super Tuesday in four weeks to have any hope of beating former Vice President Bob Russell for the nomination. He's been set up as the frontrunner from the beginning, and his wins in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida have definitely helped him. Of course, it should probably also be mentioned that Texas Congressman Matt Santos got the first win in Iowa..."
"Probably?" Rachel asked, looking at Finn as they watched TV the next day. "Does CNN WANT Russell to get the nomination?"
"I don't even know," Finn sighed. "Maybe we should turn off the TV..."
But something caught their eye on the TV. There was footage of Vinick at a restaurant with some people dressed in large, yellow suits in the background. "But we can't forget that the president is also up for re-election. Today, he had some questions from some not so typical voters..."
"Hey, Mr. President!" a voice on the TV that sounded a lot like Santana's said. The TV panned to a group of people dressed as chickens. "Why aren't you addressing the issues? Why are you just badmouthing the Democrats all the time?"
"Are you too chicken to face the issues?" said a voice that sounded a lot like Blaine's.
"Is it that you know you're a bad president, or are you just chicken?" asked a third chicken. This one sounded a lot like Kurt...
"Oh my gosh," Finn said. "Do you think those are who they sound like?"
"I do not know," Rachel said. Vinick was in New York right now, after all, and their friends knew how upset Finn and Rachel were about the three consecutive losses.
The chickens left the restaurant, and Finn found himself laughing for the first time since the Florida results had come in. "That was great!"
"He is a chicken," Rachel said.
Finn's phone vibrated and he saw a text from Kurt. He read it and showed the text to Rachel. "Wait until you see what we did today..."
"It was them!" Finn laughed.
"Oh my gosh!" Rachel laughed. "That's so wrong, but so funny."
"At least we know they've got our backs, and our candidate's back," Finn said.
Chapter 15 preview: Can the campaign bounce back with the upcoming primaries? Finchel are also featured in a tabloid for the first time...
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