Author's note: This is the last chapter… is very hard saying goodbye to a story when you loved it so much… I'm really gonna miss writing this (Sniff). I hope you enjoy this ending… Mac chooses a VP and, tired of feeling like a candidate and not like a President, decides to make some changes for the time she had left and, hopefully, for the next 8 years. Some parts are inspired in another episode of The West Wing: "Let Bartlet be Bartlet".
The jackpot question: Will she win the election? Read to find out! And enjoy!
Chapter 15:
And let THAT be our legacy…Two weeks later…
The White House. Mac's bedroom. 19:00 Hs.
Mac had been released from the hospital, but she wasn't allowed to go back to work yet. She still had to rest and stay in bed. Of course, being stubborn as she was, she insisted on giving orders and doing everything she could from her bed. Agent Daniel Carter knocked the door and entered shyly in the room…
Mac- Good evening, Agent Carter.
Agent Carter- Good evening , Ma'am President… I'm so glad to see you are getting better.
The Agent was actually very nervous but he was trying to cover it. He thought that the President had decided to fire him because he had failed to prevent the shooting.
Mac- Thanks. Please… take a sit…
She gestured at a chair that was next to her bed and The Agent sited on it.
Mac- How is your hand?
Agent Carter - it's fine, ma'am. Thank you... may I ask why you requested to talk to me?
Mac noticed how nervous Daniel was. It was like a child crying: "I know I'm in trouble could you just say so?" Mac decided to go straight to the point…
Mac- Agent Carter, the press asked Kelly, several times, why my exit wasn't covered the night of the shooting. And a lot of people are still wondering about that…
Daniel said, very mechanically…
Daniel- The Secret Service doesn't comment on procedure.
Mac rolled her eyes and got a bit upset…
Mac- Come on, Dan! It's just the two of us here! We know the truth… we know that what happened wasn't the Secret Service's fault….
Daniel relaxed a little, apparently Mac wasn't even thinking about firing him. Then he said…
Daniel- it wasn't anybody's fault…
Mac sighed and looked away thoughtfully.
Mac- a week before the shooting, you got a memo about my protection.
Dan- Yes, ma'am. I got it.
Mac- It said that I wanted to enter and exit any building in the open air, and that I didn't like the feeling of traveling around in an armored tank.
Daniel Carter nodded, indicating that he remembered the memo. Then Mac continued…
Mac- Specifically, it said I wouldn't use the tent or the canopy anymore. That memo was a direct order that I gave to the head of the Secret Service, that's you…
Dan nodded, and he could totally see where Mac was going now…
Agent Carter- I know you ordered us not to use the canopy, ma'am…. But that…
Mac cut him off, speaking very firmly and seriously…
Mac- Agent Carter, I don't think it's right that the Secret Service get blamed for what happened that night. I'll tell Kelly Ludlow to leak that memo to The Press.
Daniel shook his head and said with determination.
Agent Carter- No, ma'am, that can't be done. I mean it. It goes against our protocol to reveal anything about the security procedures.
Mac didn't care about that. She tried to reason with the Agent.
Mac- they are questioning the Secret Service's efficiency
Agent Carter- They always question it. Don't worry about it, Ma'am.
Mac shook her head. Obviously she was already very worried about it.
Mac- It's not right. You guys risk so much every day. I want people to know it was my fault.
Daniel obviously knew he couldn't stop The President or tell her what to do. But he could at least try to talk her out of doing something that he thought it was crazy.
Agent Carter- It wasn't your fault.
Mac shook her head, still incredulous. Daniel continued talking.
Agent Carter- It really wasn't your fault, Ma'am. It wasn't Horace's fault and it wasn't my fault. It wasn't anybody's fault. Believe me. It was an act of madmen. Do you think a tent was going to stop them? We got you to the hospital on time. We secured Horace. We caught the guy who gave the signal. And the shooters were down 9.3 seconds after the first shot was fired. Trust me on this, Ma'am President: I would never let you not let me protect you. You tell us you don't like something, we figure out something else. But unfortunately some things are just beyond control. This was purely an act of madmen.
Mac nodded weakly. She felt like a horrible burden had taken off her shoulder. She had felt so guilty for the shooting, and even when she had gotten the worst part, she know a lot of people had suffered because of what happened… not to mention the innocent people in the crow that got hit. Now she felt a little bit freer of guilt now.
Mac- ok…
The Agent considered the meeting was over. He stood up and, as a closure, simply said…
Agent Carter- Anyway, the Secret Service doesn't comment on security procedure.
Mac smiled amazed and shook her head. Sometimes, not even her could change how things worked. Then Daniel Carter started to leave the room… before he could reach the door, Mac said…
Mac- Agent Carter… you guys really did good job that night.
Daniel Carter smiled and said…
Agent Carter- Thank you, Ma'am President.
The Agent left the room and Mac started thinking about the conversation that had just taken place… Agent Carter had released her from her feeling of guilt… it was time for her to do the same with Horace. She knew that her son felt incredibly guilty, but she still hadn't talked about that with him. When Horace dropped by her room just to see how she was, she took the opportunity to approach the subject…
Mac- you know, Horace, I was told that while I was in surgery you said the shooting was your fault...
Horace looked down, saddened by the memory of what happened…
Horace- well… and wasn't it? I mean… you only got hit because they missed they real target: me.
Mac took his son's hand and, quoting Agent Carter, said…
Mac- It wasn't anybody's fault. It was just the act of madmen. It was a sick hate crime…
Horace guessed his mother was right and nodded weakly…
Horace- Yeah…
Mac- Horace, I also wanted to tell you: don't think, even for one second, that what happened made my change my position about your relationship with Tim. Honey, I'm very proud of you. And I'm proud of the way you handled receiving those death threats at the first place… It doesn't matter what happened, and it doesn't matter how you feel now… I'm still proud of you….
Horace shook his head; he didn't feel he deserved that…
Horace- You shouldn't…
Mac- are you kidding me? Honey… You got death threats because you are a boy and you are in love with another boy… You were warned… they told you "stop dating that boy or your life will be in serious danger" your response was: "To hell with that, I'm dating Tim anyway." And yes, that wasn't prudent, and I was really scared because I thought you would get kill… but you, at the age of 17, said: "I'll date whoever I want because a real man stands up for his believes".
Horace was moved. He was so happy that his mother saw it that way… She didn't blame him, she was glad he defended his believes. Then he was surprised when his mother added…
Mac- I wish I could speak up and stand up for my believes…
Horace- but you do that!
Mac shook her head and said bitterly…
Mac- not like I want… not anymore… ever since I became President I feel like all I do is to show up at work and do my job trying carefully not to piss too many people off in the way…
Horace- that's not true…
Mac- yes, it is… Everything I do, and everything I say, is carefully calculated… A lot of people told me: "For God's sake… don't settle for two years of borrowed Presidency". And the truth is… I really wanted four more years… so suddenly, I became a candidate… and I'm so busy trying to keep my job that I'm not doing the job the way I want to do it…
Horace had not idea his mother felt that way… he tried to say something encouraging.
Horace- If you feel like that, you can still fix that… you have time to do things your way…
Two weeks later. Oval Office. Very early in the morning.
It was Mac's first day back at work and she couldn't be happier. She had a lot of things to take care off. The first thing was a meeting with Nathan Templeton. Mac had read complete reports of everything that happened while she was out, but she still wanted the Speaker to inform her what he had done personally. Mac was impressed and surprised… Nathan had done exactly what Mackenzie would have done. Nathan noticed her surprise after he finished briefing her…
Nathan- Look… I did things your way… but I don't want you to take that as an indication that I like you and we are not enemies any more…
Mac laughed. Some things never change… and she thanked God for that.
Mac- Don't worry, Mr. Speaker.
Nathan- Seriously… I did things your way because I HAD to. I was obligated to do so because you were still The President… I was legally obligated to respect your orders and your wishes…
Nathan was talking about the fact that Mac never signed THE letter; therefore, Nathan never was Acting President on papers. They both had wanted to skip that formality: Mac because she wanted to keep some control and Nathan because he didn't want to quit as Speaker of the house just for a few days in the power. So Nathan was in charge for a while, but only in the practice.
Mac- I'm still thankful because you didn't do something stupid like invading North Korea.
Nathan laughed. He was so glad to see Mac ok… and Mac realized how much she had missed her talks to Nathan… hostiles as they were… They both realized that, somehow, they needed each other because nothing would be the same if one of them were missing. The world wouldn't be the same without the "Mac versus Nate" war. It would be like Superman not having Lex Luthor… It just couldn't be done. Nathan said, in his characteristic way…
Nathan- Don't feel too happy about it…. In a few months I'm gonna beat you at the elections and I'm gonna be President… and when that happens I'm gonna give those North Koreans a piece of my mind…
Mac shook her head laughing. Nathan was hopeless. They had nothing more to talk about, so they both stood up…
Mac- well, Mr. Speaker… I'm really looking forward to the elections… I'm dying to see who beats whom and who gets to teach the enemy a lesson…
Before leaving the Oval Office, Nathan turned around and said…
Nathan- Welcome back, Madame President.
Mac- Thank you…
They shared a heartfelt handshake, and then Nathan left the Office.
An hour later…Vince was in his way to the Oval Office. He passed by Kelly's office and he saw her kissing Dickie. He already knew that Dickie and Kelly were a couple now, and he thought it was great. He couldn't help to look at them thinking they were such a cute couple and how good Kelly could do to Dickie. The couple noticed they were being watched and broke apart… Kelly blushed and said shyly…
Kelly- may we help you, Vince?
Vince- no… I mean… yes… The President wants a meeting with you two plus Jim in two hours… she said she has an announcement to make…
The couple looked at each other worriedly, then they looked back at Vince.
Dickie- do you know what is it about?
Vince- no… I have no idea…
Kelly- we'll find out then, I guess…
Vince- yeah…
He started walking away from them. Then he turned around looking curiously at them again…
Vince- I was just wondering… Now that you two are dating, Is Dickie allowed to enter in the pressroom again?
The couple laughed… and then Dickie himself said…
Dickie- never again! I still have flashbacks…
Vince shook his head laughing. Then he walked away and went to the Oval Office. He entered shyly; The President seemed very concerned and busy analyzing a newspaper article.
Vince- excuse Ma'am… you said you needed to ask me something…
Mac- oh yes. After I make the announcement, I'm gonna need to talk on the phone with all the Senators… one by one…
Vince was surprised…
Vince- With ALL of them?
Mac- yes… I'm announcing my candidate for Vice President and I want to know if this person will have their support…
Vince- well... Do those calls have to be made in a particular order?
Mac thought about it for a few seconds and then she said…
Mac- no… I'll just start with those who support me, and when I'm done with those two I'll move on to the other ninety-eight.
Vince- very well… oh… and your eight o'clock is already outside, panicking…
Mac giggled, it wasn't eight o'clock yet… but she decided to be merciful.
Mac- ok… send Rod in now…
In a matter of seconds, Rod entered in the Oval Office, very concerned…
Rod- is something wrong, Mac? You had never needed to schedule a meeting between the two of us before…
That was true… If she needed to talk to him, she just did it. But what she had to say now was serious and required more formality.
Mac- nothing is wrong, Rod. I just needed to have a meeting with you as your President, not as your wife and mother of your children…
Rod was even more worried and confused now.
Rod- well... That's kind of hard because you are the three of them. You are my President, my wife and the mother of my children…
Mac- for the next 30 minutes I'm just your President…
Rod just couldn't believe Mac was serious about that because he simply couldn't understand why she needed to separate they personal relationship from their professional one. He said teasingly…
Rod- May I still call you Mac?
Mac- For the next 30 minutes you can't.
Mac said that very seriously and now Rod was really scared. He said seriously…
Rod- seriously… what's wrong?
Mac- nothing is wrong! I just have an important matter to discuss with you and it requires us to talk as President and Senior Advisor…
Rod nodded solemnly. He understood now and decided to do what Mac was asking.
Rod- Fair enough. Madame President, what's on your mind?
Mac showed him the article. The title was "Borrowed Presidency" and it was about Mac's time in The White House. However, It didn't talked about Mac herself… it talked about her senior staff, but especially about Rod's work as Mac's advisor and his former job and her Chief of staff when she was still VP. Rod read it carefully for a few seconds. Then Mac explained…
Mac- normally, I wouldn't worry about some reporter's opinion, but I happen to agree 100 with this… the article doesn't say anything I didn't know already but now I want to something about it…
Rod was afraid of what Mac might want to do… He simply said…
Rod- We've heard it all before, Ma'am President. They've always said that you have a very aggressive nature but I drove you to political safe ground. I don't think it's true.
Mac- well, I do… I think we're stuck in neutral because that's where YOU tell me to stay. You always make sure nobody runs too fast or goes off too far.
Rod was extremely disappointed and sad because Mac saw it that way…
Rod- First of all, I spent months in New York, out of your way… and second of, Madame President, all I've ever done was to look after you… I just wanted to make sure you win the elections because I wanted what's best for you…
Mac- I know you meant well. Rod, you are incredibly smart and you are the only one I can trust blindly… But I decided that it's time for a change…
Rod panicked. What was she trying to tell him?
Rod- Are you firing me?
Mac- no! The change is that I don't want to be in political safe ground anymore… and I need you to support that. Don't get me wrong, Rod, I want to win the next elections more than anything, and the one after that… but that can't be more important that defending what I think. You have accept tat there will be times when I'm going to put my foot down and say: "This is more important than the election, I wanna do the right thing". I want to feel like a President, not like a candidate…
Rod nodded. He knew that Mac wanted to be her self and do what she considered right without worrying about the polls and what people could think, that she didn't want to turn into a politician. But now he could really understand just how important was that to her. Actually, after reading the article, he realized he had made a huge mistake… staying in political safe ground wasn't for Mac.
Rod- yes, you are right. I was wrong and I'm sorry. I promise you that the next time you tell me that something is more important than the election and you want to do the right thing I won't try to stop you. The next time you want to be politically aggressive I will feel very proud of you and I'll say: "I serve at the pleasure of the President".
Mac smiled widely… She needed that unconditional support sometimes.
Mac- good… because I'm about to do something that some people might not like.
Rod- what is it?
Mac- I know who I want to be my Vice President…
Rod froze and suddenly the fear he felt at the beginning came back to him.
Rod- oh… and… who is him?
Mac- I very smart man… smarter than me…
Rod- I seriously doubt that… but can you trust him?
Mac- I'd trust him with my life…
Rod was really worried… who could that be? "Please don't let it be Jim", he thought.
Rod- what his name?
As response, Mac took the article and pointed at the picture of Rod that was in it while saying…
Mac- Rod Calloway…
Rod was shocked. He honestly didn't expect that.
Rod- oh… well… I'm honored, really…
Mac- But you are worried…
Rod nodded. A part of him was overjoyed, but the other was a little very worried… first married couple sharing a Presidential ticket? First President married to the Vice President? That had never been done before.
Rod- yes… I have one main concern… Which is the mother of all the other concerns…
Mac- and Does it have to do with the fact that we are married?
Rod- Yes, actually.
Mac- we can make it work. Look, Rod, I feel that I got my ass kicked during my borrowed time in the White House… But I still have the chance to do things right. Rod, I know you can be politically aggressive if you want and I need to really shake things up for the little time I got left… and I need to prepare my self to seriously kick butts if I get elected…
Rod smiled. He was actually beginning to like what Mackenzie was saying. It was so "Mac"
Rod- Ma'am President, Do you have any strategy for that?
Mac nodded, she took a pen and started writing something on to notebook, very exited. Rod was curious and then Mac said…
Mac- I have the beginning of one. It just a start… but it's something I wanna try out for a while…
Rod- What is it?
Mac put the notebook on the desk in front of Rod… The notebook was open at one page, and Rod could read: "LET MAC BE MAC".
At the time of the staff meeting. In the Roosevelt Room.
Jim, Kelly and Dickie were waiting for the President to arrive. They had been told that Mackenzie wanted to speak to them first before talking to the rest of the staff… Mac and Rod finally entered in the room… After greeting everybody Mac said...
Mac- I asked to have this meeting because I have an announcement to make…
Dickie could guess exactly what it was about… he exclaimed happily when the realization hit him…
Dickie- You chose a Vice President! You finally have a new runny buddy!
Mac nodded smiling.
Mac- yes… after giving a lot of consideration… I decided that I want my Vice President to be my senior advisor: Rod Calloway…
Kelly was shocked. Jim was a little disappointed. Dickie was overjoyed and, true to his stile, started to have mental picture of the campaign and planning things…
Dickie- that's great Ma'am President… It will be weird for the people at first, but then they will love the idea of a happy couple working side by side for the sake of this country… I can see the banners in my head: "Allen - Calloway for America"…
Kelly shook her head amazed. Then everybody started congratulating Rod… When the handshakes, the hugs and the "congratulations" were over, Mac clapped her hands to call everybody's attention…
Mac- Listen up. I have one more thing to tell you: I'm not completely comfortable with the way we've been handling my campaign and I'm not entirely happy with my work so far…. And we only have five months to fix that. What we are going to do for the rest of my time in the White House is the following: we are going to walk into walls and I want us running into them full speed. Yes, we're gonna lose some battles, and we might even lose the White House, but we're NOT gonna be threatened by issues. We're gonna put them front and center. We're gonna raise the level of public debate in this country…. and let THAT be our legacy.
They all were pretty serious… Mac turned to Rod…
Mac- is that all right for you, Rod?
Rod nodded and smiled proudly… as an answer, he said…
Rod- I serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States.
Mac smiled at him and then turned to look at Kelly…
Mac- Kelly, what about you?
Kelly- I serve at the pleasure of the President.
Mac looked at Dickie… He realized that it was his turn at said solemnly…
Dickie- I serve at the pleasure of President Mackenzie Allen
There was only one left. Mac looked at Jim at the eyes. Could she count with him?
Mac- Jim?
Jim paused for a second, and then nodded, saying…
Jim- I serve at the pleasure of President Allen.
Everyone turned their frowns and concerned looks into big smiles.
Mac- Good. Then let's get in the game! We have a potential Vice President that needs to be confirmed by both houses, an election to win and country to run the way it's meant to be run…
Five months later… Inauguration day.White House's residential part. Presidential bedroom.
Rod Calloway looked at him self in the mirror while he struggled to tie and straight his new tie. He had to be ready for the inauguration ball. That morning, Mac and him had taken their oaths and were finally President and Vice President of the United States elected by the people. Rod smiled happily…. This time the people chose Mac for the job… no more "borrowed presidency" or "President by accident", that phase was behind them. Then, he heard his wife's voice behind him…
Mac- Mr. Vice President, you look very hansom…
Rod turned around to see Mac and he was about to say something, but he suddenly froze, stunned to see how gorgeous Mac looked. She had a lovely and very fancy blue dress…
Rod- wow… Madame President, you take my breath away. Will your husband get mad if I kiss you?
Mac laughed. She really loved that kind of jokes.
Mac- I think he will get over it…
Rod leaned towards her and kissed her passionately for a few seconds. Then she helped him with his tie until it looked really perfect. That was it… they were ready to go to the inauguration ball.
White House's east room.
Mac was a little bit nervous. She and Rod were about to enter in the room where the ball would take place and Mac knew that ball would be the beginning of a new phase in her administration… and also in her life. Rod smiled at her and offered his arm…
Rod- ready to go to the ball, Ma'am President?
Mac nodded solemnly and linked her arm to Rod's.
Mac- oh… you bet I'm ready… just… don't let me fall.
She said that in every sense of the word. Rod simply said…
Rod- Don't worry. This is the time of Mackenzie Allen, my darling. Show this country what you are made off…
Mac smiled and they both walked into the ball with their arms linked as someone announced them and "Hail to the Chief" began playing.
The end…Well… this is really it. Please, tell me what you think… I want plenty of reviews!
I'm very thankful for the ones I already received.