Sorry it's so late again today, weekends away are takin over atm.
I also just realised that this fic has surpassed 300 reviews and I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to tell me their thoughts on it so far! I really do appreciate each and every one
XoMariaXo
CHAPTER TWENTYFIVE
As they entered Elizabeth's brownstone, they headed straight for the bedroom, physically and emotionally exhausted from their day. They entered the bedroom with their fingers, loosely hanging together.
"Your suits are hanging up and I cleared a space in the drawers for the things I got you. I hope you don't mind." Elizabeth explained, trying her best not to sound like it was a big deal.
Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, Henry felt a warmth radiate from within him: the woman he loved and who loved him back had made space in not only her heart but also in her home for him, "Of course, I don't mind, thank you for being so thoughtful. I really appreciate it."
As they made their way into the bathroom to brush their teeth, Henry felt his stomach do a little flip at the sight of a brand new toothbrush for him right beside Elizabeth's. They stood doing their nightly routines, regularly catching glimpses of each other in the mirror and smirking as they both enjoyed the domesticity of it and secretly hoped deep down that this would soon become their new normal.
Dressing in new pyjamas, they climbed into bed and settled into each other's bodies, Elizabeth with her head rested on Henry's chest as he wrapped his arm around her and brought her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head, "Goodnight, beautiful, I love you". Elizabeth smiled softly, "Goodnight, handsome, I love you too." She loved that those three little words were now out in the open and so easily rolled off the tongue for them both. Wrapped up in each other, they drifted off almost immediately as contentment overtook them.
As the early morning light filtered through the master bedroom, Henry started to stir from his sleep. He was met with Elizabeth's sleeping face when he opened his eyes; he quickly said a prayer of thanks for his blessings. He thanked God for the woman before him, the woman who had stolen his heart and changed his view of the world in a spectacular way. Everything seemed brighter and more alive since he met her and he could no longer imagine a world where they weren't together. He thought about how the sound of her breathing gave him a sense of calm and serenity, even if she did snore a little. He reflected on his life before she came into it and realised that he was just making his way through each day until fate brought them together properly. He wished they hadn't wasted so much time. He reached across and pushed a rogue strand of golden hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear. Running his thumb along her jaw, he closed the small gap between them and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He could watch her sleep for hours, but he wanted to spend as much time with her before the call of the real world took them.
Elizabeth instinctively returned the kiss as she awakened to see Henry staring back at her with the brown eyes she could get lost in forever. The gap between them was only inches-wide as their legs had stayed entwined and their forearms touched, their bodies never freely giving up contact as they slept.
"Good morning."
"Its is an amazing morning when I get to wake up with you, babe." he hummed to her as the dulcet tone of his voice washed over her.
"hhhhmmmm that's true, its always better when you're here."
They let the moment pass between them as they kept their eyes on one another, neither needing words to fill the silence as they adjusted to being awake.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked after a few beats, seeing something in his eyes that told her he needed to talk.
"When?"
"Before I woke up, I can see it on your face and in yours eyes"
Henry smiled back at her, loving how in tune with him she was, "I was just thinking about the first night we met all those years ago and how much time we wasted when we could have been together. I want forever with you and I can't help but feel like we missed out on years of happiness."
Running her hand down his arm, she reached his hand and interlocked their fingers. She pulled them to her mouth and placed a soft kiss on his knuckles before holding it close to her chest. "Henry, we can't live in the what ifs. I believe it wasn't our time back then but fate introduced us so we would wait for each other until we were ready for what this is."
He pondered over her theory for a second and smiled as he pulled her in for a proper embrace, "you're right babe, thank you for always showing me a different perspective."
Henry ghosted his lips over Elizabeth's for a moment, murmuring his love for her, "I love you, Elizabeth Adams," he kissed her tenderly as he tried to communicate the depths of his emotion. They kissed languidly until the sensuality of the moment intoxicated them and the need to become connected overtook all else.
As their kisses became more heated and breathless, their arousal created a haze around them. They undressed each other removing any barrier that came between them before settling back into their waking position, faces only inches apart.
Their eyes connected as Henry hooked Elizabeth's leg over his hip bringing her as close as possible so he could position himself at her entrance before sliding into her core with ease. Their breaths hitched at the sensation of finally becoming one. Henry set a slow rhythm for them feeling no need to rush the moment; their eyes stayed on each other, as the coils of pleasure tightened within them with every slow thrust of their hips.
With Henry's hand splayed over her back holding her close, every roll of his hips hit Elizabeth with the perfect amount of friction. She dug her nails into his back as she inched closer to the abyss. Pulling her lower lip into her teeth as the pleasure rippled over her body, she tried her best to stop herself from breaking eye contact. Henry couldn't stop himself though once her saw nibbling on her lip; there was something about how she did it that commanded him to kiss her. His lips connected to hers as he slipped his tongue into her mouth tasting her and she hummed at the feeling of him invading her.
Their rhythm began to falter the closer they got to their climaxes. Henry felt Elizabeth's body start to quiver and increased the force of his thrusts until the pressure became too much for them and their bodies dissolved into pleasure as they cried out.
Maintaining eye contact throughout their orgasms created a new level of intensity and intimacy for them that neither had seen coming and they felt even more connected to one another. They lay in each other's arms breathlessly as they tried to convey the feelings that had just passed through them.
"That was incredible..." Elizabeth struggled to find the words.
"It really was," whispered Henry as he pulled her to his chest and cocooned her in his embrace.
They lay wrapped up in each other's arms before the reality of work pulled them from their safe space. They enjoyed their morning routine together as they got showered, changed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Elizabeth collected the paper and made them some coffee and breakfast as Henry finished off a report he needed for their briefing at the White House.
They sat side by side, knees touching as a way of contact, "This is nice, I could get used to this," Elizabeth commented breaking the comfortable silence between them. Henry turned into her, putting his hand on her knee and giving it a little squeeze as he smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss, "Yeah, me too, babe," he returned warmly.
As they prepared to leave, they snuggled close to each other for a few seconds with a hug and kiss, "Today is going to be hard," Henry sighed.
Elizabeth looked up at him concerned, "Why?"
Henry chuckled at her concern, especially because of his reason, "Because we have the briefing today and I am won't be able to do this," he dipped his head kissing her again, and biting lightly on her bottom lip, "and I will have to watch all the other men either ogle you or be afraid of you, although I must admit I like watching the ones who are afraid of you just because you are a strong powerful woman. That can be quite entertaining."
"Are you getting a little jealous, Dr McCord?" she teased. She secretly loved the small bit of possessiveness because she knew she felt the same when other women checked him out.
"Do you blame me? I want to bang their heads together and tell them you are all mine. Only I am allowed to look at you like that now, Madam Secretary."
"I don't think any of them ogle me. You are probably just imagining it," she quipped as she put her coat and heels on.
"You keep on thinking that, babe, but you are a goddess and I have seen it with my own two eyes. I can't wait until we are out in the open and I can show them you're mine."
Elizabeth laughed at him "Ok, tiger, whatever you say. I'll see you later?" she questioned.
"I can't wait," Henry replied giving her one last kiss before she went out the front door and he slipped out the back a few moments after her.
Elizabeth made her way to her motorcade and greeted Blake as she got in. "Morning, sunshine". They had arranged for him to meet her this morning to go over the briefing points for the meeting later in the day at the White House, but, really, they usually organised one of these little car dates when they hadn't seen much of each other on a personal level and it was always a good time to catch up.
"Good morning, I think sunshine might suit you better this morning with that grin and chipper mood. I can assume last night went well then?"
She nudged him softly as she blushed, "Yeah, it was amazing. We had a really nice evening, I'll spare you the details. I'm pretty sure you know exactly where we went after dinner."
Blake grinned, happy with himself for pulling the wool over her eyes again, "You know it really should be harder to hide things from you you know. You were in the CIA, must be all those feelings turning your brain to mush and clouding your spy skills."
"Heyyyyy." she exclaimed as she feigned being insulted. She knew the real reason Blake could get away with keeping things from her was because she trusted him with her life and she didn't think too hard about the arrangements he made.
"Sooooo?" he raised his eyebrow at her, he knew she needed prodding for the rest of the details of how the night went, but he had a feeling about what happened and he couldn't be happier for her.
"So what?" she smiled as she looked out the window, avoiding his gaze to torture him. She tried not to giggle.
"Woman, come on, I'm dying here." Blake cried out "What else happened? And don't you dare tell me nothing or you are not getting this bear claw," he held out a folder paper bag with the logo of her favourite bakery on it. Elizabeth's eye bulged when she saw the bag and she snatched it from Blake's grasp and chuckled as she sniffed the contents, "Ok, Ok."
She took a large bite as she told him, "Well, we might have said those few words," Blake didn't quite catch what she said as she chomped down on the bear claw and talked with her mouth full.
"What did you just say? Did you tell him you love him?"
She swallowed, "Yep," she beamed.
"And I am assuming, going by that schoolgirl grin, he said it back."
"He actually said it first. It was so perfect, Blake, we were just messing about and it just came out. It didn't feel forced, it was just natural and I swear we have not stopped smiling since."
Blake smiled as he listened to the entire story of how those three words came about from them both and felt so much joy for his friend.
"I'm so happy for you, Elizabeth, Henry is amazing and even though I saw this coming a mile off, even possibly from the first day, I am glad that you have let someone into your heart so fully. You deserve all the happiness in the world."
Elizabeth linked their arms and put her head down on Blake's shoulder, "Thanks Blake. I don't think I've ever been this happy and, as much as it is to do with Henry, it wouldn't have happened without you and your friendship. I love you for that and hope you know how important you are to me."
Blake lay his cheek on her head "Of course I do, I'm glad you are happy."
As Elizabeth and Blake left the morning staff meeting to head to the White House briefing, some of the inner circle had noticed her particular cheery mood.
"What has made her so happy this morning? She didn't even complain that you took the last bear claw," Daisy said as she examined the pastry remnants on Matt's lips and arched her eyebrow as she nodded towards Blake and Elizabeth.
Taking Daisy's cue, Matt wiped his lips as he spoke "Don't you mean who?"
"Don't you mean who what?" Jay chimed in as Nadine sat in her chair deciding whether it was appropriate to stop this conversation.
"Oh, come on, guys, are you all serious? You can't tell me that no one has noticed that she seems to be just a little but happier than normal. I'm not saying she was grumpy or anything but it's obvious that it's a someone who is making her a little more cheerful rather than a something. She has been leaving the office at a semi-normal time as much as she can for a bit now and has taken weekends off too."
"Come to think of it..." Jay started before Nadine cut him off, "That's enough, do you all not have enough work to do or should I find you some?"
They all quickly gathered their things and scurried towards the door before they felt Nadine's wrath.
Blake and Elizabeth met Henry and Russell on their way to the Oval Office, prompting a cheerful greeting from Elizabeth, "Dr McCord, Russell"
"Hello Madam secretary" Henry replied trying to contain his grin.
"Hi Bess, where are we on the situation with Cuba so far?" Russell walked straight into the Oval Office without waiting for Elizabeth's answer. Henry held back and allowed him to go in before throwing her a small wink as she thanked him.
"Not much movement, to be honest. The negotiations are still ongoing but they are digging their heels in on some key issues and it's delaying the entire thing."
The Oval Office was filled with members of the presidential cabinet as they discussed the issues at hand. Henry watched, captivated by Elizabeth as she held the attention of each person in the room any time she spoke. It was beyond sexy but it also filled him with a sense of pride he hadn't felt before, she was a powerful woman, but her humility and her desire to do right by all sides was inspiring.
The president had wrapped up the meeting and people were in the process of leaving when he asked Henry, Elizabeth and Russell to stay behind.
"I want the deal with Cuba wrapped up as soon as possible. Does anyone have any objections or reasons I should not send Elizabeth in person to get this finalized? This is important to me and I see it as a key part of this administration's legacy."
"I'm happy to go, Mr President. I think my presence may show them that we mean business and this has dragged on long enough."
"Henry, do you see any ethical implications? I know you have been advising on this already." Conrad turned to Henry.
Just as Henry was about to answer, Russell cut in, "Why don't we send Henry along with Bess? That way, she has a sounding board in the room with her. It might make things move a bit faster."
Conrad, Henry and Elizabeth all stood looking at each other, all three unsure what to do in that moment and Russell picked up on it immediately, "What?"
Conrad smirked as Elizabeth looked at Henry and raised her eyebrow at him asking for agreement for what she was about to do. Understanding her unspoken question, Henry nodded in agreement as Russell looked on, "Can someone tell me what is going on please, Mr President?" he questioned.
Conrad laughed as she put his hands up "Ohhhhh, no, this has nothing to do with me, I'm not saying anything."
Russell did not like to be kept in the dark and his confusion was growing as was his frustration, "Bess?"
Elizabeth cleared her throat. She wasn't nervous but this was the first outsider they would be telling about themselves. Given Russell's track record for accepting things he had not seen coming, she was confident he would have something to say about their relationship, "Well, it will come out eventually so you might as well know now, so you can't say I kept you in the dark."
"Christ, Bess, you're not pregnant, are you?"
"What! No." She almost shouted back at him, raising her voice slightly, the fact that his head went there first caught her off guard.
"Thank God, I wouldn't like to see how that played out in the press. Unwed Madam Secretary pregnant by mystery man. They would have a field day."
"Russell." Elizabeth raised her voice again trying to get him to snap out of his current thought process
Tamping it down a bit, Russell decided he really should just hear her out "Sorry, Bess, so what is it?"
Henry could see that she was starting to get flustered. He knew she wasn't all that comfortable talking about her private life with many people so he decided to step in "Elizabeth and I are dating, Russell. Have been for a little while and are very much in a perhaps new, but extremely committed relationship. We just thought you should know so that you are not blindsided if the press or anyone finds out before we release it ourselves."
Russell's head swivelled back and forth between the two, "Really? You two?" he processed the information in his head as he moved his pointed finger and swivelled his neck at the same time, until it finally sank in, "Well, I'll admit I didn't see that one coming. Seriously, Bess, it had to be someone on the cabinet? You could have picked any other man in the whole of DC. The media will have a field day." Pushing his suit jacket away, he placed his hands on his hips as he started to pace.
Elizabeth continued to stay silent "Excuse me, Russell, we will handle the press as and when that happens. This wasn't necessarily a deliberate choice but you can't help who you fall in love with and I assure you that Elizabeth and I are professional enough to not let this affect our work. We just let you should know as a courtesy, rather than because we wanted your counsel on our dating choices."
Henry's declaration of love had surprised Conrad. He kept his best game face on though, thankful for the ability to do so after years of military and diplomatic training, but it had warmed his heart to know that Elizabeth had found her person and he knew Lydia would be ecstatic. While he admired how Henry stepped in, knowing full well how Elizabeth felt about discussing her private life, he also appreciated that Henry would not let Russell speak to Elizabeth disrespectfully. She could handle herself, but he found himself slipping into his parental role for her and thinking it was nice to know that she now had backup. Russell could be a scary guy to most in DC but that didn't seem to phase Henry.
Elizabeth stood speechless at Henry not only because he had just told Russell Jackson and the president of the United States that they were in love, but also because he had shut Russell down, very effectively. Russell caught Elizabeth's reaction from the side of his eye and chuckled, "Ok, don't get your knickers in a twist, Henry. As long as it doesn't affect your work, I really don't care and my suggestion still stands that you attend the negotiations as long as you both can keep your hands to yourselves in public."
"Russell." Elizabeth scolded as she finally got over her shock
"I'm joking, goodness me. Although I must say, Henry, you are the first person I've encountered who has left her speechless. You should stick around just for that alone," Russell laughed as he bid his goodbyes to the three of them and walked out of the Oval Office.
"Not where I saw that meeting going, but, nonetheless, I'm very happy for you both."
Elizabeth softened and relaxed when she realized Conrad was speaking as her friend, "Thanks, Conrad. Neither did I, but Russell had to find out at some point, I suppose. Maybe not the whole story, but Mr Blabbermouth over here gave away all our secrets."
"Sorry," Henry blushed "He needed to be told from the get-go or it would have turned into a thing with him."
As they bid their goodbyes and walked out of the office together, Henry hoped to get a few minutes alone with Elizabeth. He needed to make sure she was really okay with his abrupt declaration. "Madam Secretary, would you have a few minutes to look over a briefing in my office by any chance?" he asked taking precautions; it seemed at times that the White House walls had ears.
Elizabeth had to get back for a meeting but she could tell that Henry was apprehensive about something, "Yes, sure, but I only have a moment or two to spare, Dr McCord."
They made their way to Henry's office and stepped inside, closing the door behind them and shielding them from prying eyes.
"Everything ok, babe?" Elizabeth asked, concerned.
Relief washed over Henry as she called him babe. "I was just about to ask you the same thing. You aren't annoyed about what I said are you? Sorry, I know we should have discussed it and I know I didn't need to tell him we are in love but I needed to shut him down."
Elizabeth walked closer to him and put her arms around his waist as she looked up at him, her smaller block heels not quite giving her the height to reach him, "Babe, I'm not annoyed one little bit. In fact, I found it incredibly sexy."
"You did?" he asked, but she kissed him before he had the chance to say any more and relief flooded over him as he kissed her back.
"Now that we have told Russell, I really should tell Nadine, are you ok with that?" she asked wanting his agreement before speaking with her chief of staff.
"Yeah," he smiled and released his hold on her as she started to move, "Now I really do have to get back to work but I'll see you later and we can work out a plan for the trip, ok?"
"Ok, babe" he pulled her back for a quick kiss and tilted her chin towards him, "I love you."
Elizabeth smiled as her lips ghosted his, "I love you, too." With a quick peck. she walked towards her waiting motorcade and Blake.
She made her way back to the State Department and decided that telling Nadine should be at the top of her agenda after her meeting with the Canadian ambassador and asked Blake to arrange a meeting between them.
Nadine knocked before entering the secretary's office. It wasn't unusual for her to have last minute meetings with the secretary but she had a feeling this was not going to be one of those meetings. She had just got off the phone with Russell Jackson regarding the upcoming trip to Cuba. When discussing who would be attendance, he had made a remark about needing one less room before hanging up. Nadine couldn't help thinking it had something to do with the secretary and Henry McCord, and was now confident that her suspicions were accurate.
"You were looking to see me, Madam Secretary?"
Elizabeth looked up to see Nadine walking into her office, "Yes, Nadine, thank you, please take a seat," she closed the report she was currently reading through to give Nadine her full attention.
"What can I help you with Mam?" Nadine asked.
Elizabeth cleared her throat and sat up in her seat as she faced Nadine, "Well, it is more of a personal situation that we think you should be aware of, especially now that Russell had to be told."
Nadine kept her best poker face on as she looked back at Elizabeth, "We?" she questioned tilting her head to the side.
Elizabeth hadn't even realised she had said that, but thinking of her and Henry as a unit was slowly becoming her normal, "Yes – we, myself and Henry."
"Ok. And what is it that you both thought I should be made aware of, then?" Nadine was not giving her an out at all. She never wanted to be one to assume anything especially in DC. But she also knew Elizabeth needed to be comfortable discussing this with her on an ongoing basis since it was going to have any bearing on her professional life. As Henry was part of the presidential cabinet, it would affect things whether they liked it or not.
"We are a couple, we have been dating for a little while and it has become quite serious, well serious enough for us to feel the need to tell a few people. Obviously, Blake knows, we told Conrad and Lydia. And after we decided at this morning's briefing that Henry will be joining us on the upcoming trip, we felt we should tell Russell."
Nadine smiled at Elizabeth, "I had deduced as much."
"You had?" Elizabeth asked surprised she knew.
"Well, I'm sure Dr McCord told you about me answering Blake's phone and I hope you don't mind me saying but you have definitely seemed a little happier of late. I am very happy for you Mam. Dr McCord seems like a genuinely nice man."
"Thank you, Nadine, he is thankfully. He did tell me about that incident although I thought he had covered that well enough. Seems like we both need a bit more work on that front. We hadn't intended on telling any more people for a while yet, but after Russell suggested that Henry come along on the Cuba trip, we didn't want any ethical ambiguity hence today's disclosure."
"I'm sure we can try and keep a lid on anyone else finding out until you are both comfortable. I understand being in the public eye makes it all a little more difficult. But we should maybe think about reading Daisy in so she isn't blindsided if a story comes out or if she is questioned by a reporter in the press briefings?"
"Emm, maybe, let me talk to Henry this evening and I will let you know tomorrow, ok?"
"Yes, Mam" Nadine got up to leave when Elizabeth called her back "Nadine, thank you for your help with this and thank you for not pushing Blake too much to find out what was going on. You know what he is like when he gets flustered and, as funny as I find it sometimes, I was glad he didn't have to have a meltdown."
Nadine grinned at her, "You are welcome Mam," She walked out of her office.
