A/N: Okay… I want to apologize to you guys for toying with your emotions. Like I said… this is turning out way different from what I originally planned. And some of you again will be pissed with this chapter…. And some of you will love me for the drama. Check the title out… scandal? She is so loosing the election at this rate.

Just Another Scandal

Mac awakened weeks later, utterly satisfied and beginning to fall in love with her husband all over again.

Rod kissed her shoulder good morning as she stirred. She turned and kissed him softly, "Hi."

"Morning," He answered and handed her a file that had been dropped off early in the morning.

"What's this?" Mac asked sitting up in bed.

"It got here early they didn't want to wake you for it." Rod said placing another kiss on her shoulder.

Mac took a look at the report in her hand and smiled. Something seemed to be going her way after all. "Go green is in for three, It brings me up to one hundred."

"Mac that's great." Rod knew that his indiscretion had cost Mac an awful lot for the race for reelection.

"Today I meet with the council of women's health, and take their physical." Mac said sliding out of bed. "What's the date anyway?"

"February eighteenth." Rod said watching her go into the bathroom. Suddenly there was a crash as if she had dropped something. "Everything okay in there hon?"

"Oh yeah," Mac said beginning to panic, "I just dropped my water pic."

"Okay hon, I'm going to the breakfast table."

"O-okay." Mac said beginning to pace the bathroom. "Shit shit shit... Okay Mac Relax, so what if you're about two weeks late. It could be menopause. Yeah that's it."

Mac stepped into the shower trying to convince herself that what was happening to her was all due to age. She wasn't sick, her breasts weren't achy, and in fact she felt great. Yet she knew that pregnancy was a definite possibility.

"Women's Health council chairwoman is here Madame President." Vince said as Mac walked into her office. "She is waiting in the next room.

Mac froze, "Is the doctor here yet?"

"No ma'am," Vince followed her into the office as she sat at her desk.

"Send her in please." Mac said trying to set her nerves straight before Helena Carter came into her office. Laura came in with her customary cup of coffee and she smiled a thank you. She reached for the coffee and as she brought it to her, her stomach completely rejected the idea. "Oh boy."

"Right this way Mrs. Carter." Vince said as Mac set the cup back down on her desk and stood up.

"Mrs. Carter, a pleasure." Mac stated and reached out with her right hand.

"It's an Honor Madame President, but please call me Helena." the older woman said taking the proffered hand.

"I want to thank you for your support of me on this election." Mac said walking around her desk and walking side by side with Helena to the couches.

"Are you kidding?" Helena said taking a seat across from Mac, "You are our first female president, and a poster child for women's health. I'm only sorry we didn't get in on this first."

"It is truly appreciated."

"The Physical exam that you will have, is routine things that all women your age should have."

"Right, a mammogram and a colonoscopy."

"They will also be taking your hormone levels, you know... Menopause could be near." Helena said shyly.

"I wish," Mac mumbled under her breath.

"What was that ma'am?" Helena said leaning forward.

"Oh, I'm just thinking out loud." She said shaking her head.

Helena cocked her head; "We will post the results on our website."

"What? Why?"

"To show that if our president does this, they should to." Helena said capturing the panicked look on Mac's eyes. "You have the choice of which results we cannot post. If you have a preexisting condition that you do not want to be dragged out could be stricken from record, but total disclosure tends to draw in the voters, and we get our money's worth."

Mac nodded not liking the fact that she was about to sell her health for her job. "Anything that I do not want disclosed would stay out of your report correct?"

"Absolutely," Helena said, "We are prepared to back you periodically through out the entire race up to fifty Million dollars."

That took her to 150 million she had half of her backing already just by agreeing to this. "Okay, The White House physician will be here in moments. I will certainly love to contribute to your cause any way I can."

"Thank you Madame President. You have no idea how much this means." Helena said, as they both stood.

Mac walked the woman to the door, "Give Vince your contact information as to where the Physician can send the report."

"We just need to draw your blood, and we'll be done." Dr. Weiss said

"Doctor, I have a problem." Mac stated softly.

"Yes ma'am?"

"I think, that one of two things are happening and I need you to check on that for me."

"What are those?" The doctor asked intrigued.

"I'm hoping for menopause, but..."

"Say no more... I'll add a Beta HCG to your lab work and we'll find out for sure." He said reaching for her arm. He tied a rubber tourniquet to her right arm and rubbed the inside of her elbow with alcohol. Right before he put the needle to her arm, "How late are you."

"I don't know, maybe two weeks." Mac said looking away from the four tubes of blood that the doctor took.

"Are you normally irregular?"

Mac was thoughtful; "no I'm not usually irregular, just sometimes when I'm stressed. But it's never as drastic as two weeks."

"Have you had any other symptoms of pregnancy? Dizziness, absentmindedness, excessive or lack of energy?"

"No... No other symptoms." and thought about it some more.

The doctor gathered his tubes of blood and placed them in a special container. He swabbed the President's arm with alcohol and stood. "We should find out one way or another in a few hours."

"That quick?" Mac said putting on her jacket

"Yup," Dr. Weiss said on his way out.

"Glad you are doing better Mr. Secretary," Mac said leaning back in her chair.

"Madame President I cannot thank you enough for the support you've given my wife through my recovery. It's been a tough couple of months." Secretary Francis said at the other end of the line. "I heard that everyone on the bus came out fine."

"Yes they did, thank god." Mac said as Vince let Dr. Weiss step inside of the oval. "Mr. Secretary, when will we be seeing you again?"

"I have a couple of rounds of therapy, but the doctors say I will be ready to work in about three more weeks."

"Fantastic, I will be looking forward to seeing you again sir," Mac said standing and walking around her desk.

"Thank you Ma'am, Goodnight."

"Good night," Mac said and hung up. "Hi Dr. Weiss."

"Hello Ma'am."

She shook his hand, "Please have a seat." She took a seat across from him on the couches and leaned forward, "So... How am I?"

"Excellent health ma'am. Your colonoscopy is clear, as is your mammogram. Your blood pressure is a bit high, you need to lay off the stress... which I suppose could be hard."

"Am I going through menopause?" Mac asked wanting to get to the real point of this.

"No."

Mac's body slumped back in the couch. "Oh god," she covered her face with her hands.

"Think of it this way ma'am, you'll be the first pregnant president."

Mac looked up at him aghast, she hadn't thought of that. "I want that particular part of my results to remain confidential. Is that clear?"

There was a sort of menace in her voice, "absolutely."

"Thank you doctor," Mac said standing and heading towards the desk. "Laura is the first gentleman still in the house?"

"I believe so ma'am" came the disembodied voice.

"If you could please send for him that would be fantastic." She looked behind her and the doctor was still there, "Yes doctor."

"I will be back next week to check on your condition ma'am. You are at high risk so I will be doing that nearly every week."

"I would really like my regular doctor to do this for me. But okay," Mac answered. "Good night doctor."

"Good night." The nervous man said heading for Vince's office to send his reports.

Mac perched herself up on her desk, and thought out what she was going to say to her husband. "Gee honey, it seems that that one night stand did me in." she groaned at that and started to pace the oval as if she were a caged tiger.

"You wanted to see me?" Rod said as he entered the oval, concerned look in his eyes. Mac looked at him and smiled nervously opting for the safety of her desk and plopping in her large leather chair. "Uh oh, what's wrong babe?"

"You remember my birthday?" Mac said softly, "What I told you I did that night?"

"Did you find something out in that test?" Rod panicked, "I thought everything was clear before."

"I'm not sick Rod," She said folding her arms over her chest.

"What then?" He came to her and kneeled in front in front of her placing his hands on her lap.

"I'm pregnant." Rod's hands flew off of her and before she knew it he was across the room.

"What?" He began to pace the room, "There is still a chance it could be mine couldn't it?"

"Highly unlikely," Mac answered.

"Yes I guess it would be, since I haven't gotten you pregnant in all this time." He dropped down on the couch across the room.

Mac watched him for a few minutes.

"Our medical records are public Mac, They know I'm fixed." Rod stated coming to the very same conclusion she had earlier in the afternoon. "Of all the stupid..."

"I KNOW." She shouted stopping his tirade. She never screamed never even when she was in pain. Rod made her scream and she so didn't appreciate it.

"Mac, I'm sorry, I'm just hurt." He had never asked before, but he needed to know. "Who's the father?"

"Rod..." Mac shook her head and turned her chair to face the window. She watched as the sun began to set and color the gray sky a bit orange. It was nearly six p.m. The days were starting to get longer, and Mac couldn't be happier for it.

"No… Mac seriously, you can't expect me to feel comfortable raising this kid, and not know who you slept with." Rod said hotly.

"I thought we put this behind us." Mac turned to face him.

"We won't be able to now, there is always going to be a reminder of it staring us right in the face. No matter how cute that face is."

"What makes you think, I'm keeping this baby?" Mac asked softly.

Rod walked back to her and kneeled in front of her placed his hand on her abdomen and he stared into her eyes. "Because Babe, I know you better than anyone." He kissed her where his hands had been and stood up. "I've got to get to New York, I think I need some time to think this through. I just don't think that I can handle this right now."

"You're missing dinner?"

"I was supposed to leave two hours ago, but I wanted to be here when you got your results." Rod answered and waved goodbye to her.

Mac waved back as he watched his retreating back. Mac sat there for a few more minutes and stood up. She walked slowly to the residence. She didn't say she was leaving, she just walked home. She wondered if she should tell William about it or not. She hadn't really talked to him since that night. She also couldn't get him out of her mind, and now she was carrying a royal child. "I'm so Royally screwed."

She sat at the dinner table, at the head of the table. No one was around yet dinnertime wasn't for about fifteen more minutes. She pulled out her cell phone, which she never used when inside the house. Scrolling down the list of names on her phone book, she stopped at the moniker K. Barreras and pressed dial.

After the first ring a woman answered the phone surprise ringing strongly in her tone, "Mac?"

"Hey Karina." Mac said softly.

"My god woman, what's going on? How is everything in the house?"

"Fantastic," Mac deadpanned with a chuckle, "Listen, I need you to do me a favor."

"As a friend, or as your Lawyer?" Karina could always read Mac's tone.

"My Lawyer."