Chapter Twenty One – March 10

After getting out of the hospital a few days ago and settling in at home Elizabeth was starting to feel better. She would have said she was feeling almost back to normal if her life hadn't been so completely changed. That was to be expected with a baby back in the house. They were all still adjusting. Even Elizabeth and Henry, who had experienced living with a baby before, were dealing with some rude reminders. After so many years they'd forgotten everything that had to change with a baby. One of those things was how annoying it was to lug around a baby carrier.

Thankfully Elizabeth still had a few weeks before she was allowed to lift something that heavy, so Henry was stuck doing the hauling. At least he was stuck transporting Kelly's carrier. Elizabeth had claimed Kelly the moment they'd gotten out of the car. That claim was not likely to last much longer though. The moment she and Henry stepped off the elevator they were surrounded by Elizabeth's staff. There was no way she would have her daughter all to herself anymore.

"Let me see her. Let me see her!" Daisy exclaimed, sounding so much like Alison it was almost insane.

Grinning, Elizabeth shifted her arm slightly so Kelly's face was more visible. Kelly yawned and stretched before settling back against her mother.

"Oh my gosh, she's gorgeous!"

"She's absolutely beautiful, Ma'am," Nadine confirmed.

"Thank you," Elizabeth replied.

"I remember when Chloe was that little," Jay mused as he ran a finger over Kelly's cheek.

"They grow up fast, don't they?" Henry asked.

"Very. I'm sure before long Kelly will be up to your waist and driving you crazy."

Henry laughed. He was 100% positive that would happen far quicker than he wanted it to. Until then though he was going to enjoy every moment.

"Speaking of," Matt said. "What's up with the name? Kelly Eliza. Did you not say there was no way you were going to name the baby after you?"

Elizabeth shot Henry a glance, but there was no heat in it. The most that was there was exasperation and the feeling of a topic long since beaten to death but still without a satisfactory conclusion.

"That was Henry's doing. He named her while I was unconscious."

"Slick, sir," Blake stated despite the risk of annoying his boss.

Henry's grin widened, and Elizabeth nearly rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, Blake, he's paying for it."

Her staff glanced at Henry, and he shrugged.

"I'm on diaper duty, and after spending over ten years without diapers it's really hard to go back."

Dealing with the diapers made both of them feel rather like first time parents again. A lot could be forgotten in ten years.

"He's on baby duty the first time she wakes up every night too," Elizabeth added.

That was the better part of the deal by far in her mind. Both she and Henry would be changing diapers for a long time to come. There was no avoiding that. What she could avoid was constantly getting out of bed in the middle of the night. A little extra sleep was worth a lot. Henry's choice of name was giving her that.

"And how many times do you have to get up after that, Ma'am?" Nadine asked with a smile.

"Surprisingly few actually. She's nearly as easy as Alison was."

So far Kelly had been an incredibly easy baby. She didn't quite sleep through the night, but it was pretty close, especially for a baby only a few weeks old. Kelly wasn't up every few hours that was for sure. It was too early to tell, but Elizabeth suspected Kelly was going to be even easier than Alison had been. She wouldn't have thought that was possible. Hopefully she wasn't jinxing herself.

"Lucky dog," Jay grumbled.

He was smiling though. If Elizabeth had it easy then he was happy for her. He remembered how often he had been up during the night. The fact was he was still up pretty regularly each night, and Chloe was a lot older than Kelly.

Elizabeth was thinking along the same lines. It hadn't been that long ago that he'd driven to her house to give her some information and had used the trip to lull his daughter to sleep. She and Henry hadn't had to use that method yet.

"In more ways than one, Jay. Believe me. I'm incredibly lucky."

She was lucky just to have Kelly. So incredibly lucky. When she'd first found out she was pregnant the thought of having another child had terrified her. At the time, if she'd been given a choice, she would have had it not happen. She hadn't wanted a baby at forty six. Her family had been perfect just the way it was. Now that Kelly was a part of her life though everything was different, and in more ways than just her daily routines. She couldn't imagine her life without her baby girl now. Kelly was simply meant to be. A perfect part of their lives. She hadn't needed to be planned.

Henry's arm suddenly slipped around her. Leaning against his side, she looked up at him and smiled. She could see it in his eyes. He felt the same way about Kelly that she did. Kelly was already an integral part of him too. Of course Elizabeth hadn't needed to see his eyes to know that. She'd already known. Known the first moment she'd seen Henry holding Kelly. She was simply meant to be with them. There was no question.

"We both are incredibly blessed," Henry confirmed. "Kelly feels like our own personal miracle."

"Okay, I love her name," Daisy exclaimed.

"It is beautiful," Nadine agreed. "Even if it wouldn't have been your first choice, Ma'am."

Elizabeth smiled. As much as she disliked part of the name, Nadine and Daisy were right.

"It is starting to grow on me."

Henry nudged her and lit up like the sun. If that wasn't an "I told you so" she didn't know what was.

"Don't start," she warned.

"Did I say anything? I don't think I said anything."

"You didn't, Dr. McCord," Blake confirmed.

"Blake."

"Sorry, Ma'am, but he didn't actually say anything."

"He didn't need to say anything, Blake," Nadine explained. "It was clearly implied."

"Ah…"

Blake looked about as sheepish as he ever got. He hadn't intended to make the situation worse, and watching Elizabeth glare at Henry while he grinned at her didn't help. It was high time to change the subject. Hopefully before that glare shifted to him.

"How long are you going to be out, Ma'am?"

"Oh, great. We get to be stuck with the deputy Secretary of State," Matt groaned when he realized she wouldn't be returning immediately.

Daisy promptly hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Hey!"

Elizabeth chose to ignore Matt and Daisy to answer Blake's question instead. It was an important one after all. Her answer would hopefully satisfy Matt somewhat too.

"I'm taking two more weeks and then Henry will take the rest. I dread thinking about what will happen here if I'm gone longer than that. It seems like the minute I'm out of the office catastrophe strikes.

"We figured I could be away from work with less consequence than she could," Henry added.

She wasn't the only one who had noticed that when she was away from the office things went to hell rather quickly. Elizabeth wasn't going to let that be the only explanation for him being the one to stay home though even if it was true.

"And you're thrilled to be home with her."

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be home with her," he confirmed.

"He is," Elizabeth reiterated for her staff. "And so will I for the next two weeks. During those two weeks you are not to call me unless it's a dire emergency. Understood? Dire. As in, without me here personally the whole world is likely to explode."

"Understood, Ma'am," Nadine promised.

"Can we at least call to consult with you?" Matt asked.

They all turned to look at him, some of them with dark expressions.

"What?" he demanded. "We all saw what happened last time."

He did have a point, and Elizabeth considered it. Maybe if they felt like they could call her before things got too ugly she would be able to prevent the situation from exploding. That way there was a chance she wouldn't need to be called in at all.

"Alright. Calling to consult is fine. Within reason."

That was the key. They couldn't be calling her all the time or she would kill them.

"We will call you sparingly," Daisy assured her. "Now let me see that baby."

Laughing, Elizabeth handed Kelly over and stood back to watch the magic happen. She didn't get much of a chance to because Nadine held out a small wrapped package.

"This is for you, Ma'am. From all of us."

"I thought I told you not to get me anything."

Nadine smiled and held the package out even further.

"You did, and we listened for the most part, but this was a necessary item."

Elizabeth looked at it for a moment before shrugging and taking the present. As she pulled the paper off she understood why Nadine had said it was necessary. Inside was a small framed photograph of her daughter, the same one she'd chosen to send to Blake for the announcements.

"Nadine…"

"We thought you could use one for your desk."

Touched and slightly dumbfounded, Elizabeth reached out and pulled Nadine into a hug.

"Thank you."

It was an amazing present. Absolutely amazing. She would have to thank the rest of her staff too once they were done with her daughter.

O . o . O . o . O

They stuck around long enough for Kelly to be passed around six times – Daisy had claimed Kelly twice. Henry and Elizabeth had enjoyed watching everyone interacting with their daughter and seeing how much they all already adored her, but they were just as happy to have their little girl all to themselves afterward. They settled in the back of the sedan to make the trip back home but before they could pull out there was a knock on the window. Elizabeth glanced at it in confusion. When she rolled the window down she found Russell on the other side.

"You really think you can leave before I meet this newborn that's caused us so much trouble? I don't think so. Now hand over that baby."

"I didn't figure you'd be remotely interested, Russell," Elizabeth laughed.

Even so, she and Henry climbed out of the car, Kelly nestled in Henry's arms. Immediately Russell reached for her, and Henry handed his daughter over.

"You didn't bring the President with you?" Henry asked.

"No," Russell returned as he expertly settled Kelly against him. "The President was busy, so he'll have to find some other time to meet your daughter."

Henry and Elizabeth grinned and watched as Russell smiled down at their little girl and stroked her cheek. Never would Elizabeth have dreamed that the President's chief of staff could look like that. She never would have expected to see him holding a baby either, happy about it or not. The sight in front of her was surprisingly adorable. Russell looked so happy. So cuddly.

"Holding her actually makes you look human, Russell. It's actually pretty cute."

His eyes flicked up to her, the soft smile on his face turning into a bit of a wry one.

"Watch it, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth's smile only widened. It had been a token warning and nothing more, which actually made the whole situation even better.

Russell held Kelly for a moment longer before shifting her back into Elizabeth's arms. He smiled down at the baby and then turned the same smile on Elizabeth.

"Congratulations, Bess."

"Thank you, Russell."

The moment was gone as quickly as it had come.

"I'll see you after your maternity leave. Just don't take too long. We need you here."

With that said he nodded to her and turned away, leaving them to head back home.

Elizabeth glanced at Henry, laughter in her eyes.

"Well that was unexpected," Henry told her.

"Yeah. Tell me about it. Come on. Let's go home."

Once again they got into the car. After settling Kelly into her car seat neither of them could resist taking one of her tiny hands and stroking their thumbs over her fingers. They both grinned at each other when they realized they'd done the same thing.

"So we're doing this all over again, huh?" Henry asked.

"Yup," Elizabeth replied as she grinned down at her daughter.

"How many mistakes do you think we're going to make this time?"

Elizabeth sat back and laughed.

"I don't even want to think about it."

She was sure that despite all of their experience from raising three children they would still be making mistakes. It was pretty much guaranteed. Kelly would simply find some new and unique way to challenge them. The other three certainly had.

"She's already wormed her way into a lot of hearts too."

"So we're really in trouble."

"Oh yeah."

They looked at each other and started laughing. There was no doubt at all that they were going to be in for a wild ride.