Mother's Day
A series of Mother's Days in the McCord Family.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Madam Secretary characters. But, I do idolize Barbara Hall. (There I said it! Publicly!)
Chapter 1 - First Mother's Day - 1996
She sat in the rocking chair in their small apartment, looking down at her infant daughter. Elizabeth McCord had recently become a mother and she stared at Stevie, who looked exactly like her as a baby. She glanced up at the photo on the shelf of the nursery, her own mother holding a 1-year-old Elizabeth smiling back at the camera.
Stevie whimpered and she began to rock her again. It was early Sunday morning on Mother's Day. Henry had told her the night before that he would get up with the baby. But, she purposefully beat him to it because she cherished this time with her daughter. After losing her mother at 15 she had a longing for Mother's Day to become important again. Elizabeth promised herself for as long as she lived she would cherish these days with her children like her mother had with her and Will.
A movement at the door caught her eye, Henry stood there leaning against the door, his pajama pants falling low on his hips, his Marine t-shirt clinging to his muscled upper body. Her heart skipped a beat. He had recently finished his last deployment for the Corps and she was thrilled to have him at home.
He moved over to her, "Good Morning, Babe." He leaned down placing a hand on her cheek and lifting her face to his to kiss her. He placed his hand on the head of Stevie, who was now curled into her mother's chest.
"Coffee and breakfast?" he asked her.
"That sounds good," she answered getting up and following him out of the nursery and into their small, apartment kitchen. Henry made them a small breakfast for two.
After breakfast, they took a walk; Henry pushed Stevie in her stroller while Elizabeth tucked her arm around his. The same way they had walked since college. It was often like they couldn't get close enough to one another. They were two, who had become one, just starting out as a family but also reconnecting after his deployments.
Elizabeth knew Henry loved being home with them but he desperately missed being up in the air everyday. He would be starting his doctorate classes soon but for the time being she knew he was a bit restless being home everyday and she worried about him.
As they made their way through their neighborhood park they watched families playing while the passed by the playground.
"Can you believe that will be us in a year or so?" he asked glancing over at her.
"Henry, don't go there. I want to cherish every second with our children. Losing my parents at a young age has given me a new perspective on our time with them," she answered him with a slight frown on her face.
"Children? You want to have more?" he teased her.
She nudged him with her arm and chuckled, "Two for sure, three if we're lucky."
"Ahh, well played, Babe," he stopped and looked at her. "Do you want to try and have a real wedding now that I am home?"
She smiled back at him, "Maybe when the kids are older and can experience it with us. For now, I like us just the way we are."