Inwardly, every fiber of her body resisted taking another step, and her mind buzzed with thoughts. She thought of the headlines she had read and heard, the remarks she had overheard and the looks she had received. Each time, she had crumpled the newspapers into the paper trash in frustration and turned off the television. But the worst were the looks and murmurs when she was out with him. The looks and comments full of envy. But little did they know.

Even for people who knew her really well, it was impossible to see her discontent and fear. But that's exactly how she always wanted it to be, wasn't it? Hadn't she sworn to herself the very night Conrad had offered her the job as Secretary that she would keep her private life private? Her private life also included her relationship with her husband. And that he would put a spoke in her wheel was as good as impossible. He preferred anyway, if only for other motives, not to draw attention to their relationship.

She just managed to suppress the bitter laughter that threatened to burst out of her. Pull yourself together, Elizabeth.

She was barely ten meters away from him when she lowered her head and looked at the ground for a moment to finally get her expression under control, until she raised her head again and looked at him with a broad smile.

There you go. She was still thinking, when he was already walking the last few meters towards her with his arms stretched wide. She played along and after the gap between them had closed she let herself fall into his waiting arms. In the past, the feeling that spread through her would have been love, security and safety. Today it was stress, tension and fear. Actually, she didn't know why fear, nothing would happen to her here. They were in the midst of people, or at least under observation of many people. Here he would not dare. After all, he still had a reputation to lose, not to mention a public office. She was also aware, though they had never talked about it, that that was largely why he had nixed her decision to keep private things private.

While she was still trying to relax in his arms, she heard the reporters' cameras clicking. The shutter buttons of the cameras were pressed so eagerly that the sound had become a background noise. After a brief moment, he pulled back from the embrace and looked into her eyes.

Shit. She wanted to scream, to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. Wanted it to be like it used to be, for them to love each other like they used to. She wanted the before back. Life, their life together, before this had all started. Life as it used to be. She looked into the eyes in which she had once seen so much love, lust and joy. Into the eyes in which she had lost herself for hours. And which had shimmered with stimulation and lust, lust for them, every time, and had made her heart race. Every damn time.

But now it was different. Though she could find love deep inside and after much searching in his eyes, something else was much more prominent. Something she knew all too well. The thing she was afraid of. Greed. Greed had taken over. Probably everything would be easier without that in his eyes. And better. Maybe she would still be as happy as she once was. Maybe...

"We want to give the cameras something, don't we?" He barely let her hear, let alone process, his murmured words, spoken so softly, before he had already leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Completely surprised and startled, at his sudden action, she wanted to push him away. But when she heard the swelling sound of the frantically clicking cameras, she thought better of it and let him. Still, her hands had jerked upward. To cover up her movement and her earlier intention, instead of grabbing his arms, she reached into the placket of his coat with both hands and tugged gently. The way you did when you kissed someone you loved.

Actually, she wanted to slap him, to punish him for assaulting her like that and making such an unnecessary show for the press. They didn't get that intimate in public, much less without a valid reason. If he was already accompanying her on official trips, they played the happy couple for the press and the public, but left it at hugs and seemingly nice looks. However. The press seemed to like the kiss. The clicking didn't stop at all.

When he finally pulled back and let go of her, she hissed at him between clenched teeth and without losing her smile "And what have I done to deserve this?"

"Just play along" With that he left her question unanswered and put an arm around her waist while turning them both slightly so that they were both facing the cameras side by side. The journalists couldn't get their heads around it. No wonder. With the show he was asking them to put on.

"Why is Director Munsey accompanying you on the trip?" "What has EU President Jensen requested that you now make their way to Brussel?" "What does the overseas calendar look like? There are not many events on the calendar yet." "Is there an official reason why Director Munsey is flying to Europe with you?" The jumbled questions from the journalists, Elizabeth didn't even notice.

She raised her hand in farewell, and then allowed herself to be led without resistance by Andrew down the red carpet to the stairs of the plane.

Just before reaching the stairs, and definitely out of earshot of anyone else, she turned to him in his arms. "I'm afraid I have the honor of holding your hand." her bored and annoyed sounding tone startled her a bit herself. Since when did she speak to him like that. It was not so long ago that she had blushed with shame and joy when he had taken her hand, but now? Things had changed.

His scrutinizing look showed her that he had also heard her tone. He knew her after all. He knew what was going on in her head, knew all too well her reactions and feelings. But that was also the reason why he could hurt her so much... She was actually tired of it. She wanted nothing more than to have her Andrew back from before. That he and she had changed so much since she had taken the job as Secretary made her sad. She missed the sweet togetherness. She missed her best friend. He seemed to feel the same way, too. Besides, Elizabeth wondered herself, why one moment everything seemed to be fine, she almost felt comfortable with him again, and then the next moment everything seemed as if nothing was fine at all and she had to suppress her panic once again.

Just about to follow up with something friendlier, he released his hand from her hip and reached for her hand carefully, almost pleadingly, while answering in a cynical sounding voice, "Sorry, ma'am. I didn't choose this either."

"Bah, you shouldn't have shown up here at all. I'm doing great without you, believe me." Oh oh, now she started. Actually, now would be the latest moment to apologize and thus avoid a confrontation. "Elizabeth, that's not fair."

"I don't care about that. You're the problem not me." To herself, as she walked down the stairs with Andrew, she mused that she'd better keep her comments to herself rather than provoke the argument she definitely didn't want to have as well. "Elizabeth. I didn't choose it. Russell just called me at lunch today and ignored any objection from me." He sounded almost pleading. Apparently he didn't care to argue that out now, either.

She knew he was right, Russell had written it to her, after all, but still she decided she had to shove it in. Besides, her head was far too tired to stop her from doing anything right now.

"Unfortunately, he told me that too. Something about do me fall."

"You haven't talked to him yet?" Questioningly, he looked at her from the side. "No, when am I supposed to. All day I'm running back and forth between the White House and the office and from meeting to meeting. I haven't even been home the last few days. But surely you've noticed that."

When he avoided her gaze, she cursed. "Andrew! I told you that you had to get help. I can't do it like this anymore. I don't want to do it like this anymore. I still have blue spots and I can barely move because every bone hurts." Had she really just said out loud that she didn't want this anymore? Deep down she had already known it, but had shrunk back from the consequences that this sentence brought with it. And now she had said it just like that...

Reaching the top of the stairs, they both turned again and waved goodbye one last time. "This conversation isn't over yet." Andrew did the same before grabbing her hand again to disappear into the plane together.

This time she slapped it away. Not caring that this moment would be captured by the cameras and was probably already on every newscast across the country, maybe even the world. But she didn't want him any closer to her now. Not after he had just confessed to her that he had violated her condition.

Andrew's soft clearing of his throat made her anger boil up again. Once they were both safely on the plane, she turned her back to him and marched off. "My office. NOW!"

Her office would give them some privacy with its soundproof walls. Plus, they could close a door behind them that would be easy to slam if either of them decided the conversation was over.

Trotting past her staff, Andrew followed her. Daisy looked up from her tablet and gave them a concerned look before turning to Nadine.

Nodding to her, Nadine raised her voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to follow me." Though a bit taken aback, but still following Nadine's instruction, Jay, Daisy and the Secretary's security men stood up and followed her to the back of the plane, to the seats farthest from the office.

The two women sat down in a settee across from each other, both silently looking out the window. It wasn't until the plane had been in the air for some time and they heard Jay snoring softly next to them that they both turned to each other at the same time. "So, what's going on?"