Spoilers:The term spoilers only apply to revelations about unaired episodes. All aired episodes become part of the canon, and thus I allude to them without warning. This piece begins at the end of the final episode of the sixth season.
Liaison de Congrès
Scene Three
They walked along Maryland, turning left onto Second Street and then left again onto D; neither seemed eager to venture far from the capitol. The lunch crowd was thinning, and they quickly found a table at The Monocle, a favorite eatery for politicians and pundits.
After ordering, Amy called home to find out how her family liked her speech. Even though she knew Maxine objected to her senatorial aspirations, Amy couldn't shake her need for her mom's approval.
"Hey, Ma."
"Amy, hi."
"So what did you think?"
"You spoke well. Really well. I'm still not excited about the idea of our family under a microscope, but I must admit that we need someone with your passion in office. Just...think it over carefully, won't you?"
"I will. I will. There's a lot to consider." Amy smiled at the man sitting beside her.
Almost as though she could read Amy's thoughts, Maxine said "So I thought I saw Bruce sitting behind you on television. Was he there?"
"Yeah, he was there. Actually, we're having lunch right now."
"May I speak with him, please?"
"Um? Yeah, sure. Just a second." Amy lowered the phone from her ear and looked at Bruce. "It's Ma; she wants to speak to you."
Bruce took the phone. "Mrs. Gray?"
"Mr. Van Exel, hello. What did you think of Amy's testimony?"
"I thought she was an excellent advocate for the juvenile justice system."
Amy smiled.
"So did I." The preliminaries were clearly over. "I thought I had understood from Amy that the two of you had had a fight. That you disapproved of her recent rulings and had left her side."
"I left her courtroom," Bruce said, choosing his words carefully.
"I see." Maxine paused before continuing. "Mr. Van Exel, I'll be making some of my grandmother's ginger snap cookies this weekend. When you and Amy return from D.C., please stop by to have some. Now would you please put Amy back on the line?"
"Certainly. Good-bye, Mrs. Gray. I'm looking forward to those cookies." Pleased but puzzled, he handed the phone back to Amy.
"Yeah, Ma, hi. What was that all about?"
"If I wanted you to know, dear, I would have asked to speak to you."
"Right." Amy knew she would get no further information, from that source at least. "So did Lauren get off to school okay? The teacher understood why she was late?"
Maxine replied in the affirmative, and then the two spoke for a few more minutes about matters at home and Amy's testimony. Before hanging up, Amy said "Tell Lauren I'll call her this evening. Love you, Ma."
"I love you, too, dear."
Amy turned off the phone and slipped it back into her bag.
To be continued…
Acknowledgements: Thanks as usual to Soylent Gringa, who reads everything I write and lots of stuff I don't. Special thanks to my husband, who watches Judging Amy with me every Tuesday; his ear has helped me improve the dialogue and excise the clichés. His patience is especially commendable as he thinks fanfic is rather silly.
Disclaimer: Judging Amy and it characters are the property of Barbara Hall/Joseph Stern Productions, in association with CBS Productions and Twentieth Century Fox Television. I wrote this story to explore a few possibilities and intend no copywrite infringement. only.
