Happy Sunday
Enjoy and as always please let me know what you think. I just finished writing chapter 24 of this yesterday, I wanted to to keep you all updated that there is def more coming even if my update scehdule is slower.
XoMariaXo
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The next day, as Elizabeth was making her way to the White House for a strategy meeting, she daydreamed about seeing Henry. She knew he would be there and she hoped traffic would play nice, so she would get there a little early and have time to drop by his office.
He had messaged her earlier, 'Morning, Beautiful, cant wait to see you today. I miss you even when I'm sleeping. Have a great day and I'll see you soon. Your Henry x' Her heart had leapt when she read it and it instantly put her in a good mood even pre-coffee. She was rereading the message again for possibly the tenth time when they pulled up to the White House entrance and she was told that the meeting had been pushed back a little. Normally, this was something that would frustrate her, but not today; today, she would get to visit Henry in his office and, hopefully, spend some time with him.
As she knocked on the door of his office, she was glad that her DS agents left her alone in the White House. This would just look like she was calling in to see Henry professionally.
"Come in."
His eyes brightened and a huge smile appeared on his face when he realised it was Elizabeth walking into his office. She had been on his mind from the second he woke up. He was too old to be playing games so he decided to just tell her exactly how he was feeling, hoping she felt the same.
He got up to greet her, "Good morning, Madam Secretary, what can I do for you today?" He kept up the pretence until the door was closed fully.
"Good morning, Dr McCord, I wanted to discuss our project."
Once sealed away in his office, Henry pulled her into his embrace, threading his fingers through her hair and capturing her lips with his tenderly. They kissed softly, enjoying the feel of the other's presence and letting it surround them. Breaking apart, they looked into each other's eyes and smiled as they saw their feelings radiated back.
"Hi handsome, I missed you too."
Henry smiled and kissed her again lightly. "To what do I owe the very welcomed pleasure?"
"I had some time as the meeting was pushed back. I normally just find an office to work from, but I thought I would see seize the opportunity to see you when it was presented."
"Well, why don't you just work from my office? I'm sure we can share a desk for an hour or so and that way we can get our work done and spend some time together."
Elizabeth smiled back at him "I'd like that Dr McCord."
Henry cleared her a space at his desk and they began to work. They read together in a comfortable silence.
Suddenly, a knock rang through and the door opened, "Henry, just out for a stroll to clear my head and I thought I would... Oh, Elizabeth, sorry I didn't see you there!"
Henry's mouth fell open and he struggled to get any words out. It wasn't unheard of for the President to just wander into his office when he was out on one of his strolls, but he was surprised because the meeting had been pushed back and he had assumed it was because of a scheduling problem on the President's behalf which evidently it wasn't. Elizabeth, however, was a trained CIA analyst and field operative and was able to keep her cool and think on he feet.
"Hello, Mr President, how are you? Henry and I are just doing some work on our Russia project, since I was in the building already."
Byt the time she bad finished her explanation, Henry had pulled himself together and played along, "Yes, might as well use the opportunity when it presented itself." He mirrored Elizabeth's earlier statement. "Was there something you needed me for? There is no rush on what Elizabeth and I are working on so I am free if you need me."
"As it turns out, it works out great that you are both here, I could use both your input."
As they discussed the issues at hand, Conrad thought he felt a strange atmosphere in the room – not bad, just different – and he couldn't place the reason. They finished up and he bid the two good-bye as he retreated to the Oval Office where their meeting was due to start in 15 minutes. As the door closed, Henry and Elizabeth simultaneous let out the breath they had both been holding; looking at each other they, burst into a fit of laughter. Finally controlling herself, Elizabeth asked, "Why do I feel like a teenager hiding something from their parents?"
"I know. It's not like we are not both consenting adults, but maybe we should have a discussion about telling the president? I am his ethics advisor and I don't think its appropriate for me to keep something from him and I also heard on the grapevine that you two are close, so there are just too many lines that could be crossed on either side, and I think a talk would be good to clear it up," Henry rambled.
"It's ok, I knew we would have to bring him into the loop pretty quickly. Conrad and I are close and have been for years, he is like a father to me. I would generally keep my love life from him for a good while longer, but we both work for him. I don't want there to be any grey areas where that is concerned so we do need to have a serious discussion about where this is going and when – or If – we need to tell him." The if word almost killed her to say, but she needed him to know he had options and she didn't want him to feel trapped.
Henry knew this was a defence mechanism so he pulled her to him and kissed her softy, "There is no 'if', Elizabeth. I was going to bring this up with you when I saw you next anyway. This just escalated the timeline of the inevitable. So are you ready to tell the President about us?"
Elizabeth smiled back at him, "Yes, I think I am." She snuggled herself into Henry and rested her head on his shoulder as he traced patterns on her back. "Ok, now, we just need to decide when. How does after the meeting sound?"
She looked up at him, "If you don't mind, I would rather do it outside of his office hours, like I said we are close and I want to tell him as both my friend and my boss. I'll ask him if he has some time for me this evening before he heads to the residence and we can tell him then, together, ok?"
"Sounds perfect to me, now let's get going, we don't want to keep the President waiting."
They walked into he Oval Office, sat opposite each other and got down to the topic at hand. Throughout the meeting, they keep sneaking small glances at each other and trying not to smile – which did not go unnoticed by Conrad. There was a reason he had been the director of the world's largest spy agency and the President of the United states: the man was as sharp as a tack and he knew Elizabeth well enough to know when she was acting differently. It was so subtle as she covered it well and no other person would ever have been able to tell, except possibly Blake.
As the meeting ended, Elizabeth held back, "Mr President, could I have second?"
"Of course, what can I do for you, Bess?"
"I have another meeting to get to now, but I was wondering if you had a small window of time this evening to meet me before you finished up for the night?" She would rather have done this while they were in the residence, but that would have involved bringing Henry there and would have raised some questions as it would have had to be cleared with the President's detail.
"Of course, meet me here around 7? Does that suit you?"
"Yes, sir, I'll see you then."
She walked out and Conrad wondered if she was going to come clean. He grinned as he mused about it.
Now there was a match I did not see coming
As Elizabeth made her way back to her office, she messaged Henry, letting him know the plan and that he should meet her at his office before 7pm. She then messaged Blake to let him know to adjust her schedule.
She was greeted by Blake with a fresh coffee and a pastry as she got off the elevator, "Good morning Madam Secretary."
"Morning Blake, do we have much on the agenda?"
"I've worked my magic as usual. You will be finished on time for your meeting at the White House. I will include it on your schedule. Now, what will it be in regards to?"
"As they reached the confines of her office, Elizabeth realised it couldn't go on her public diary. "Blake can you not include it on my official schedule? It's not for work."
"Ahhh, so you and Henry are going to tell the President about what's been going on then?"
"Huh, how do you know that? Were you talking to Henry already?"
"Nope, I just knew that after last night this would all get very serious very quickly. Also, Henry is the ethics advisor so I would assume he wouldn't be ok with keeping it a secret from the President for long. And you know that if Conrad wanted info about your personal life, he would come straight to me himself, and again, you know, that man gets what he wants from me when it comes to you. I will actually be surprised if he doesn't know already, that man has a sixth sense when it comes to your love life."
"No he doesn't, don't be so silly."
"Yes, he does and you know it, woman. You do remember when you went on a date with that banking guy back when you were in UVA? Conrad had me grilled within 48 hours." Elizabeth laughed at the memory. It was Blake's first real encounter with Conrad and he had put the fear of God into him. Thankfully, or not so thankfully, they were generally in cahoots with each other now when it came to her personal life, so it really was only a matter of time before he would have gotten it out of Bake. She knew she should be annoyed at them both digging for information, but she also knew that she could sometimes be a closed booked that needed to be pried open to keep the communication lines – as family would have doubtless done – flowing. And, in the end, she supposed they always had her best interests at heart, for which she was grateful.
"You are probably right, but I don't think he knows anything. As long as he takes it well, that two members of his staff are dating, it might actually be nice to have pulled the wool over his eyes for a while."
"I wouldn't bet on it – or, actually, you know what, I would! Drinks and dinner on you if he doesn't know and drinks and dinner on me if he does?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him, "Fine, deal, but I'm telling you he doesn't know, ok?"
"If you say so...Anyway how did last night go, do we like the sister? She seemed nice from what interaction I had with her."
As they settled themselves at her desk, she gave him a quick rundown of how the evening went and how much she liked Erin.
"I'm really glad it all worked out, Elizabeth." He said with sincerity.
"With a lot of help from you, you know I appreciate everything you have done over the past few days, don't you? Not just giving me the time to be a normal person, but holding me together and helping to fix things when I almost made the biggest mistake of my life."
"I know you do, don't worry. Now, this is all getting way too sappy so stop before I start crying; you know I'm an ugly crier, not quite as bad as you, but still." He got up to walk out, as Elizabeth laughed.
"Hey, I'm not an ugly crier, Blake."
"Ohh, Adams, you soooo are." he chuckled and closed the door behind him.
Later that evening, Elizabeth met Henry in his office. "So are you ready to do this? No second thoughts?"
He took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers, "Yes, 100%. Absolutely no second thoughts, but let's hope we don't get fired or have to quit if he says he has a problem with it, because this not happening is not an option."
She smiled back at him, silently thanking him for easing her nerves.
"Ok, then let's get going, we don't want to be late for the leader of the free world, especially if you are introducing your new boyfriend to your boss and mentor."
"Boyfriend, huh? That's nice, I like it."
They made their way to the Oval Office, hands by their side and bumping every so often. As they stood in front of the office door, Elizabeth took a deep breath and knocked. The receptionist had gone home for the day and she was thankful no one but Henry had to witness this.
"Come in, Bess." Conrad had been expecting her. He was a little surprised though when he noticed Henry walk in behind her, but it just confirmed his suspicions about the two of them.
"Ahh, Henry, Bess, to what do I owe the pleasure of you both in my office? No world disasters please, Lydia is expecting me home for dinner on time for once."
"Well Conrad, emmm, there was just something Henry and I wanted to discuss with you," Conrad noticed how Elizabeth used his name; he knew she was here to tell him, in his capacity as the President, but he also hoped their friendship factored in. He knew how awkward she found this kind of thing so he thought he might put her out of her misery just as Henry stood beside her and interlinked their fingers. "The thing is, sir, Elizabeth and I..."
Conrad put his hand up to stop him, "If you are about to make this grand reveal about the two of you, then I'll save you the bother because I had worked it out for myself already."
Henry stopped dead in his tracks; he couldn't decide if the President knowing already was a good thing or a bad thing, and he couldn't work out from his face if he was happy about it or not.
Elizabeth's mouth dropped open, "Whaaaatttt? How did you know? Christ, Conrad, we only just about figured it out ourselves. Please tell me you didn't interrogate Blake again because I don't want to go back to State to a puddle that once was my assistant."
Henry almost wanted to caution her for being so off the cuff when Conrad laughed at the torrent of words she had unleashed.
"Calm down, that was one time. Ok, that was four times, but no I was able to work this one out all on my own. I would have thought I trained you better Elizabeth, it was written all over your love sick faces today. Henry, I can understand, but you? I would have expected a better poker face."
"Shut up, Conrad, that's not fair." She said embarrassed, before he pulled her in for a fatherly hug. She melted into his embrace "Are you sure you are definitely ok with this?"
He pulled away from her and held her by the arm. "I'm definitely ok with this. How long have Lydia and I been telling you to get your act together and get a proper social life?"
Henry stood back and watched the encounter with his mouth open; his shock evident on his face.
He knew? How?
Interrogate Blake? What has Blake got to do with this?
Love sick faces – I don't have a love sick face, do I?
Did she really just tell the President of the United States to shut up?
Did he just hug her?
What the hell is actually happening?
Elizabeth and Conrad hadn't initially noticed Henry's current turmoil until they looked at him; the two laughed when they saw his reaction. Elizabeth has mostly played down her relationship with Conrad in the media and within the White House, not wanting anyone to say that she was talking advantage of it.
She interlinked their fingers again, trying to coax him out of his thought process "Babe, you ok there?"
"Emm yeah I'm fine. Am I missing something here? Are you sure you are really all right with this, sir?"
Elizabeth looked between Henry and Conrad "So I may have failed to mentioned that I've known Conrad since I was 18, he and Lydia are like family to me"
"And to answer your question, Henry, yes I really am ok with it. I'm happy as long as Elizabeth is happy. I think you both will make a great couple. How about the two of you join Lydia and me for dinner this evening?"
Elizabeth eyed Henry who looked like a deer caught in headlights and smiled, "I think we will leave it for tonight, Conrad. This might be enough excitement for one night for Henry. It's not everyday you have to explain your new romantic relationship to the leader of the free world and then get a dinner invitation. Let's not totally scare the crap out of him, shall we?" she laughed.
Henry finally found his confidence and voice again "No, Elizabeth, honestly it fine, I'm fine. Just took a moment to get used to all of this, that's all." He said embarrassed at being caught so off guard by the President.
"Henry, she is right, like she usually is, and you will come to learn that very soon if you haven't already. Let's leave it for tonight, but let's schedule something soon or I'll never hear the end of it from Lydia if we don't. Please make sure to either call her or go see her to let her know about all of this. I am 100% not taking that bullet if she hears it from me so either tonight or tomorrow, ok?"
"Got it, I promise. She would have been first point of call anyway, if not for the whole bit where you are our boss and the president of the United States, " Elizabeth quipped.
"Well, that does great things for my ego, thanks very much. Now, off the pair of you go, and enjoy what is left of the evening."
Henry took a step towards Conrad and held out his hand, "Thank you for being so understanding about all this, Mr President. I'm very glad we have your blessing, especially as you've been so close to Elizabeth. Let's hope the first lady feels the same, otherwise I feel I may be in trouble." He joked.
"I'm sure you will be just fine, but Henry, when it's personal time and we aren't in a work environment, please call me Conrad. Also, consider this your warning: if you address Lydia as anything else, after she hears about this, she will have your head."
Henry laughed, "Ok then, thanks, Conrad. I promise I won't make the mistake of calling the First Lady anything but Lydia to save us all."
As they got into Elizabeth's motorcade, she turned to Henry, "So? Are you ok?" She asked nervously. She knew that was a lot to take in and process.
"Are you serious? That was amazing! It went way better than I expected apart from my little mind fart in the middle," He laughed.
"Good, that is actually a big weight of my shoulders. I'm sorry for not really telling you the full extent of my friendship with Conrad, force of habit now really."
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles, "It's ok, I understand it will take time to let me in fully, just take your time and we will get there."
She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled up to him, "Thank you, Henry."
When they pulled up down the street from Henry's apartment, Elizabeth wasn't ready to let him go yet, "Do you want to grab some things and just come back to mine? I want to spend some time together, just us, no other people."
"I would love that, but are you sure? We run the risk of someone seeing me tomorrow morning in the light of day."
"Please? It will be fine, we can take the risk. If I leave first, they will probably all leave anyway"
"Ok then, give me a few minutes to grab my stuff and I'll be right back. I would invite you in but I think that would cause a bit of a stir."
"I don't think Matt would be too happy either, I'll just wait here and I'll see your place another time."
Henry got what he needed and they made their way back to Elizabeth's, ordering takeout on their way.
They settled on the sofa to eat their dinner and watch some TV, very pleased with the way the day had gone.