A BIT OF A LIGHT CHAPTER. PLEASE REVIEW.
"Up. Up."
Henry looked down to find Luka sitting beside his feet, holding his hands up, opening and closing them. Without thought, he reached down and scooped up the little one, tossing him a bit in the air as he said, "Well, what are you doing?" The tiny squeal and toothless smile from his grandson touched Henry to the core. He settled Luka in his arms without thought, habit from his own children taking over.
"Looks like they've got us both wrapped around their little fingers."
Henry looked up to see Elizabeth walking towards him, Lilliana settled on her hip. "I still can't believe how big they're getting." He commented, and then scrunched his face up and leaned over to his granddaughter, "What are you eating?"
Lily gave him a frown and turned her body away. Just in time, as the toddler in Henry's arms reached over, an insistent whine as he lunged for the cracker in his sister's hands.
Elizabeth smiled, and said, "Grams thought ahead." And she held a cracker out for Luka to grab, which he happily did and they both settled in, crumbs mingled with sticky fingers on both adults. Then, to Henry, Elizabeth said, "I wish they lived closer."
Henry chuckled, "Well, give it a few months or five more years, depending on your pull with the American people, and we can move wherever."
Watching his wife with their granddaughter brought such joy to Henry. Lily comfortably laid her head on Elizabeth's shoulder, still snacking away on the slobber-filled cracker in her hand.
Elizabeth slightly gestured with her head over to the groups around the room. "How did everyone grow up so fast?"
Henry looked around at the small get together at Russell's house, each of their children engaged in some conversation. Jason and Dmitri were looking over the new drone that Jason had helped design in school. He hated to think what would happen with said drone. Allison held a small glass of champagne in her hand while she talked with Charlotte, who was admiring the dress Allison was wearing. Emma and Russell were in the corner by the drink cart, and Henry didn't even want to know what schemes were being concocted in that corner.
Then he heard Stevie's voice coming from the kitchen as she walked towards where they were standing. "There they are." She sounded tired but happy. She reached her hand over and cupped Luka's hair and leaned down and kissed the now droopy-eyed boy's forehead. "It's past their nap-time."
"They're visiting their Grams and Gramps." Elizabeth said with a smile, "We fudge a bit on the nap-time thing."
"You won't when they're crabby all afternoon." Stevie sarcastically said, then she joined Henry and Elizabeth in surveying the room. "I hope Jason doesn't convince my husband to buy a drone."
"He can have Jason's." Henry offered, "I just have this eerie premonition about it being shot down outside the White House and sending everyone into panic thinking it's some attack."
Elizabeth laughed. And Henry looked over to see where she was looking. Over in the direction of where Emma and Russell had been talking. Allison and Charlotte had joined them.
"What do you think about her?" Stevie asked.
Henry gave Elizabeth a second to answer. He could tell she was thinking. And she said, "I think… I think she's good for Em."
He knew she hesitated. He mentally made the note to talk about it with his wife later. And he chimed in, "I haven't seen her that comfortable with someone in a long time." Which was true. She'd smiled so much more than Henry had seen his youngest daughter smile in a while.
The tiny whine and irritated rocking from Luka drew Stevie in, and Henry reluctantly relinquished the sleepy child over. "Nap time." Stevie said. And then, all she did was turn and say, "Hey." And Dmitri looked up from the drone in his hand, a silent eye conversation between Stevie and Dmitri happened, and soon, Henry watched his daughter and son-in-law carrying the two little ones off to a quiet space for their nap.
Before he knew it, Elizabeth had slipped her hand into his, and settled her head on his shoulder. He leaned his head onto hers, as they both watched their children.
"I noticed you hesitated." He whispered.
He felt her head nod, "I don't know."
Henry just watched Emma, still talking with Russell, slip her hand into Charlotte's. Quiet. Normal. Habitual.
"Have anything to do with her telling you to stay in your chair?" He asked knowingly.
He looked down when Elizabeth's head tilted up to look at him, her nose scrunched up. "You do know me too well, Henry McCord." Then she nestled her head into his shoulder, "I was just worried. And it seemed like she didn't care."
He waited a second. Checking himself before he replied. "Maybe just give her a chance." No need to tell Elizabeth what he knew she'd come to eventually. Then he took a step, pulling her along towards the group, "Come on."
They walked up to hear Russell asking, "So, what's next?"
"Well." Emma said, looking over at Charlotte, "I have one more year of school, and Char's finishing up her last term student-teaching."
Russell offered Henry and Elizabeth a drink, which they both took. And listened.
"… so depending on if she can get a job here in the US, hopefully she'll get to come here after Christmas."
Charlotte looked between Henry and Elizabeth, "We're going to try the whole long distance thing."
"We did that." Elizabeth offered, "Henry was finishing up his deployment. Not easy."
Emma nodded, "I'm definitely not looking forward to it." Then she said, "But, what else can you do?"
Allison chimed in, "You could see about transferring to a school in the UK?"
"What?" Elizabeth said hastily, and then, catching herself, she added, "I mean, of course you're an adult, but…"
Emma laughed, "Gosh, Mom. Tell us how you really feel." Then Emma leaned over and leaned her head on Charlotte's shoulder, "But, really, I want to finish up at Georgetown and be done with it. If I transferred, I'd have to take longer. And, with a degree in political science, probably would be a lot of different coursework in the UK."
"I still can't believe you picked Political Science." Russell chimed in. When the group looked at him quizzically, he explained, "I mean, your whole life has been politics. And you studied it?"
Henry laughed.
Emma shrugged, and said, "I mean, it's hard for a professor to flunk your international policy paper when your mother was the Secretary of State."
"Emma!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"I'm joking!"
"That's just what I need." Elizabeth joked, "Some news story about favoritism in an International Policy class."
Russell took a swig from the glass in his hand, then asked, "So after graduation, you going to run for President?" They laughed, then he added, "I mean, you might be able to put up a good fight against your mother next term."
"No." Emma said, "I'm looking at working with some NGOs or something else outside of the lime-light."
After today, Henry knew that sounded good to his youngest daughter. Testifying in a huge case. Being the first daughter. And trying to live her own life – those didn't go well with the spotlight all over her.
Allison jumped in, "Ok, so I know it's off topic, but speaking about the whole press stuff…" She gestured between Emma and Charlotte, "How long you two going to keep this quiet?"
Henry's eyes flew open, and he heard Elizabeth say, "Noodle, that's not your…"
"Oh, it's fine." Emma said. Cool. Calm. And Henry watched Emma shoot Charlotte a glance. And Charlotte nodded. They had their own little language. Emma then said, "We're not hiding it, but we figured, since we have at least another semester or two living continents apart…"
"Why make it an issue?" Russell finished Emma's thought. "I agree. I mean, Jay and Mike must be having a cow thinking about how this is going to affect the election."
Henry jumped in, "Now, maybe they're thinking that, but, Em, you know that your mother and I aren't concerned about it, right?"
Charlotte looked up at Henry, and shook her head, "We both just want to finish school and then deal with what happens after that." Emma nodded in agreement.
Now it was Jason's turn to upset the apple cart, as he said to Emma, "Don't you want to be headlined as 'the gay first daughter?'"
"Jase!" Henry jumped down his son's throat, "What are you…"
"I was just kidding…"
Emma interrupted Henry's planned angry tirade. And she calmly said, "Well, first of all, asshole…" She punched her brother's arm, "… I don't owe America anything. So. Fuck headlines." Then, she leaned over and playfully kissed Charlotte's head, "And, I don't care what people think."
Henry watched Elizabeth's body relax a bit as Elizabeth said, "I'm happy for you." Then added, "Both."
Emma was happy. She was glad that she never had to testify again against Lydia. That was over. And she was enjoying being home. And she'd had a few drinks. Charlotte was there with her, one of the safest people Emma knew. And her family seemed to like her girlfriend. And. She loved hanging out with Russell. She could say fuck and dick much more around him than most other people. She couldn't believe he'd opened his home up for their family – just so everyone could get together and forget for a second the huge house where they lived, and her mother simultaneously ran the country.
When her phone rang, she excused herself. Looking down at the unknown number – she got a sinking feeling in her stomach. And she slipped into the hall bathroom and closed the door.
She answered, her voice shaking a bit. "Hello?"
The voice on the other line was not what she was expecting. "Emma?"
"Yes?" She said, her voice catching.
Then the words.
"I've got a proposition for you."
