Chapter 21

The residence went from quiet to incredibly noisy in about five seconds as soon as the rest of the family arrived. Henry stepped out of the kitchen as Elizabeth stepped out of the bedroom and they caught each other's eyes in the living room area.

Henry took a long look up and down, she had on a red turtleneck sweater and a black pencil skirt, with tall black boots. He threw the towel on a nearby counter and stepped over to her whispering in her ear, "Uhh…that skirt."

She looked herself over and said, 'What? I thought you liked this skirt?"

"I do, maybe a little too much," he winked at her as the kids came traipsing in.

Merry Christmases were thrown around! Elizabeth bent over to give Eliza a kiss and Henry made sure to catch a glimpse of her backside. Eliza was dressed in an adorable red dress that had a plaid skirt to it and shiny black shoes.

Henry shook Michael's hand as they were pleased that he and Allie worked things out. Daisy had informed them earlier that some members of the New York media had followed them to Washington, which made Elizabeth less than thrilled.

Henry yelled over everyone, "Okay kids! Lasagna is ready and we need to eat if we are going to make it to Mass on time."

The motorcade pulled up to the National Cathedral. Henry squeezed her hand and said, "Are you ready?"

"Yep," she sighed.

He stopped her, "Hey, it will calm down after the Inauguration. America is just obsessed right now."

"Oh I don't think it will calm down. All they want is shots of our girls' baby bumps. It's creepy and it will stay that way until our grandbabies arrive," she said.

"Wait until they find out about Jason's engagement!" Henry laughed as she glared at him. He knocked on the window letting the detail know they were ready and the doors opened.

The camera lights flashed as she stood and waited for the Henry to make his way around the car to her. "Madam President, Merry Christmas!" a member of her press pool yelled. She couldn't see much through the flashing lights.

"Madam President, any Christmas wishes?" She knew that voice. Frank one of the best reporters in the press pool. She actually liked him a lot, so she would always answer him.

She smiled and yelled back, "A peaceful world next year and healthy babies!"

The press pool laughed as the family stepped inside. There was no question America was in love with the McCords.

Two hours later they walked back into the residence.

"My feet hurt and my face hurts from smiling so much," Elizabeth complained as the rest of the family laughed. She threw her heels to the side.

Henry pulled off his tie and pulled out the scotch.

"Why does Senator Miller always get to sit behind us? He is so creepy," Allie spouted off. "I swear he does it just to try to intimidate you, Mom."

"Mom's the President and nobody intimidates her," Jason replied back.

Elizabeth snapped her finger and pointed at her son, then took a sip of her scotch Henry handed her.

Michael came out of the kitchen and handed Jason a beer. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow and laughed, "I think this is the first time we have had drinks with you, Jason."

Allie fired back, "Probably because he was caught drinking so much in high school that it's awkward for him!"

Jason scoffed, "That was once! Once!"

Henry smiled at him and held up three fingers. "Three, Buddy! But, I think you only remembered one!"

They all laughed. Elizabeth loved this. She missed having this time with her kids. She sat back into Henry's side.

Jason went on to talk about one of his classes. Allie talked about everyone's gowns for the Inauguration including Claudia's. Elizabeth gave a side glance to Jason who was sitting in the chair to the right. He was beaming as she spoke about Claudia.

"I just love her dress. It is a blush pink. So simple but it looks amazingly gorgeous on her!" Allie said. "Sorry, Jayce, but you are going to have to wear a pink tie!"

"It's all good," he said taking a sip of his beer.

"What about your mother's dresses?" Henry asked.

"Nice try, Dad! I am not talking about them to you! Roxanne is on strict orders to keep the room where they are locked. Although, Mom, you do have to do one more fitting the day after tomorrow with me," she said cautiously.

"Blake already has it on my schedule. Happy to oblige," Elizabeth finished her drink.

Allie beamed, "Perfect. I'm so excited." Elizabeth smiled back at her so thrilled that she was happy.

"Listen, I have an 8am briefing with Jay in the morning since his kids will be up at sunrise to open gifts. I am assuming you want to sleep in and have breakfast after I get back?" she asked them.

"Sure," both kids shrugged their shoulders at her.

Allie yawned, "I am getting tired. I am going to go shower and get into bed."

Jason said, "Me too!" He stepped toward Elizabeth and took her glass and his beer back into the kitchen.

Michael and Henry started talking about his work in finance. Elizabeth didn't want to be rude and get up but it had been a long day and she really just wanted her bed.

She was beginning to almost doze off when Michael started to talk about Allie to them.

He was dressed in a dark gray suit and leaned up on his knees, "I love your daughter very much. She helps me see things in life I never would have seen before. The vibrancy of fall colors in Central Park, the way the stars align in the sky or how the skirt of a dress falls just right. She is the sweetest, kindest person I have ever known. I can't imagine not spending my life with her."

Elizabeth gripped Henry's arm and took a breath. In her head, the word "No" kept playing on a loop. She knew Allie still wasn't that confident in this relationship and needed more time with him.

"I would like your permission to ask her to marry me. I was going to ask her over New Year's but now I know that is Jason's plan for Claudia so I will wait a bit, if that is easier?" His dark blue eyes pleaded with them.

Henry looked to Elizabeth who smiled at him wishing she had more drink left.

Henry hesitated a bit, looked back at Elizabeth again and then nervously answered, "Yes, of course." For once, Elizabeth was speechless.

Michael sighed and stood up to shake Henry's hand and hug Elizabeth, which was awkward. He left the room so fast it was still spinning for Henry and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth turned to Henry and said, "Ohhh no!" and headed to their bedroom.

Once the door was closed, she started, "Henry, this cannot be happening. She is already an emotional wreck and explicitly told me that she needed more time with him. This isn't soulmate from the get go like you and I. This pregnancy was an antibiotic mistake," she whispered to him.

Henry turned to her, "What?! How come you didn't tell me that?"

Elizabeth saw the change in his expression and demeanor and she knew he was confused.

"Because it was a mother-daughter conversation," she answered.

He dropped his shoulders at her and gave her the look, "You need to do better than that."

"She told me when I was in New York for the fittings. It was a conversation between the two of us. I have had plenty of conversations with the girls over the years that didn't involve you," she sat down on the bed.

"Elizabeth! Seriously? This is one of those conversations you needed to let me know about," he argued back at her.

"Well, we weren't exactly on the best speaking terms when I got back from that trip. You didn't even say goodbye to me when I left on the trip. What am I supposed to just come back and be all 'By the way, here's what's going on with Allie?!'" she was throwing her hands about when she spoke and not looking at him.

"Yeah, you should have said that. Since when do we keep stuff from each other about the kids?" he asked.

She tossed him a look.

"First the details and now this. Elizabeth, what the hell is going on?" he raised his voice at her.

"Don't yell at me, Henry. I am tired of your yelling and the kids are actually here," she barked back at him.

"It's the White House and every room is soundproofed. Sometimes that is the only way I can get through to you," Henry kept his tone the same way.

"Oh that's not fair. I am going to take a bath and let you rethink that statement." That was the last thing they said to each other on Christmas Eve and she marched into the bathroom and practically slammed the door at him.