"I'm firing Blake."

Henry stared at the water going down the bathroom sink, trying to piece together sense from the non-sequitur. Not able to find any, he turned the water off and stepped into the doorway. "What?"

"I'm firing Blake. In a year, I had him put it in my calendar."

"You told him?" He was starting to wonder if this was some dream.

"Well, he needs time to find something else."

Climbing onto the bed, he sat so he could face her. "Okay, back up, back up. Start at the beginning."

He caught her shrug. "I had reason to stop the last few days and really think about all he does for me. A few months ago, he pointed out that he assembles binders of… policy, of information on people, on protocols. He stays ten steps ahead of me, he literally gets other world leaders and terrorists, people who often don't want to speak to me, to the table; or at least on the phone. He manages the staff, in the whole building! Did you know the detail guys defer to him?"

He shook his head.

"We were on the way somewhere and I wanted to change course and Jimmy actually looked at Blake for confirmation. He knows so much about not just the staff he has to interact with, but everyone!"

"I'm not surprised."

"He wants more. Has wanted more for years. I started asking around the building this week about him, then I asked over at the White House. The picture that got painted for me wasn't of a personal assistant." She looked up at him and he could see in her eyes that she hated the idea of letting Blake go. He couldn't blame her. "He digs in on negotiations. He holds sway over people to make things go well."

"How did he take it?"

"He was horrified, at first, but I think he'll warm to the idea. I'll miss him, but this is what's best for him."

"That must've been some revelation."

"I stepped back and saw him as a mom." She went quiet and he let her gather her thoughts. "I hate it though."

"We love him. He's still a part of this family, make sure he knows that. Can I just… Can I make a request?"

"Sure."

"Can your next assistant be a woman?"

He waited as her brows pulled together as she thought. "Why?"

"Having Blake has been, at times, a serious test of my faith. Of my resolve and understanding. I'm not sure I could handle starting over." He debated a moment. "There have been times when I've had to hand you to him and… It's really hard to know another man is that close to your wife. I don't know if you know this, but I get a little territorial when it comes to you and the kids."

She smirked. "Oh, I know."

He swallowed. "A good example, the state dinner for the Danish head of state a few years ago? I had my own business to attend to, which was prearranged, but I came into the ballroom and you two were at the table talking to that ambassador and his wife. And I just stopped and stared. Your back was leaned into him, his arm was around you and you were both grinning at whatever the wife was talking about."

"Their kids."

"It was hard not to see it as intimate. I got so angry, I actually started to storm over, despite myself, and then Blake looked up and smiled and told you I'd arrived. There was no rush that there was something nefarious to be hidden, he simply stood and relinquished the chair. That's when I realized he'd plated dinner for me." He hung his head. "And you leaned right into me when I sat down, like you hadn't been doing it to him not thirty seconds before and… and like that he was gone. You didn't even look up to see where he went. It was like he'd never been there, even the conversation carried on. I was the one who looked up."

He could see her waiting for him to carry on.

"He blocked anyone who tried to come to the table while I ate. He didn't let you get called away, he made sure you and I got to stay there. And it messed with my head."

"Why did you never tell me this?"

"I didn't want my jealousy and anger to be a wedge. You needed him."

"When- When were the other times?" He heard her voice catch and he studied her, could see the worry.

"Later that night you and I danced and then I had to go finish my thing… When I was walking away, I looked back at the two of you dancing." His voice broke slightly, but he sucked in a ragged breath. "I've seen you two dance so many times. I've watched him lead you away, holding you like I taught him, which is just some sort of horrible irony or something. I've seen him hold you were you were falling apart only to not even blink and hand you to me when I got there."

"Baby…" She reached for his hand and he let her take it.

"I've done my best to make peace with those feelings. Like I said, a test of my faith."

"Okay, female assistant." She paused and he sensed there would be more questions. "Why didn't you ever say something?"

"You would have sent him away without even thinking about it. And you love him. And he loves you."

"Have you ever told him?"

"He and I talk all the time, but no."

She pulled him until he adjusted to lay beside her. "I wish you would have said something."

"I felt horrible for getting jealous and angry about an arrangement I was in support of."

He let Blake into the house and handed him a beer.

"That's telling." Was Blake's only comment.

"The kids are out for the night, Elizabeth's…at the White House." He led the younger man to the family room. "I heard you're getting fired."

Blake grinned a chuckled. "Yeah, nearly made me have a heart attack, but yes, I will be getting fired."

"I didn't get a whole lot of the story." He led, grinning when Blake squinted at him. "Fine, she said she became aware of your worth and your potential."

"My parents came to town and, under her suggestion, I took them in to the office. They want me to work my way up in the world, which they shared, loudly. She defended me, no surprise." He sipped his beer. "Honestly, half the stuff I didn't even know she knew about."

"She knows you do a lot."

"I'm trusted with a lot."

Henry let the conversation lapse for a minute before diving in. "She's the one who pushed for me to invite you over. That's why she and the kids are all out."

"Uh-oh."

He chuckled. "No, it's… I confessed some stuff to her and she thought I owed it to you to be honest. She didn't say it in so many words, but she's working up to this run for president and she hinted that my circle of trustable confidants is going to be shrinking. She wanted to make sure I made the effort." He sighed. "And cleared the air."

"You guys are still my family; I don't plan on that changing."

"Good."

"I didn't know the air needed clearing between us, I thought we always kept things out in the open."

"I… I have struggled. At first it was easy to keep everything clear in my head but as time wore on and everyone became more comfortable together, the lines blurred. It's hard to see her with you." He watched Blake start to balk. "It's never… I never expected jealousy and anger to feel so overwhelming."

Blake leaned forward, placing the bottle on the table. "Why did you never say anything?"

"Because she needed you. I couldn't be the wrench in everything."

"Henry…"

"If I had come to you and honestly said that seeing you with my wife angered me, what would you have done?'

"I would have stopped, immediately."

"That's my point."

"I still don't follow."

He huffed, running his hand over his face. "Every time I would see you with her, every time, you would instantly direct her attention to me. You've…" He waved his hand in the air. "You automatically line up our schedules so we have more time together. How can I be jealous of the guy who makes sure the busiest woman on earth has time for me? I mean, nearly twenty-five years of anniversaries that she either missed, or got called away from, or was late too and the last six? She's been fully present and uninterrupted for every one. What kind of guy would it make me to be angry at that guy?" He hung his head. "You made sure my marriage stayed in tact in a city and a job where it's very common that they don't."

"I would say that makes you normal." Henry's head shot up at Blake's reply. Blake only settled back in his seat. "You are madly in love with her. I've not found that person yet who makes me feel that way, but even the relationships I have had, if someone else was doing those things? I wouldn't be inviting them into my house for beer." Henry watched him press his lips together. "Look. I am sorry for the role any of my actions played in your pain. It was never my intention."

"I know."

"My only intention was ever to return her to you, more or less in one piece." Henry smiled slightly at that. "I'll back off being so familiar."

"She still needs you."

"No, she needs you. I'm simply a habit… Habits can be broken. And it sounds like this one will, I'm out of a job in a year."