Chapter Thirty Nine - The Official Release, The Final Part

Four Hours later…

Henry stood at the front door of their DC home, the last few boxes had been packed into the removal vans and set off a few minutes ago, making their way to his old but new home. Henry glanced at his watch calculating just how much time he had before he set off himself with Alison and Jason, an hour. He sighed heavily, wondering what he was going to do for an hour.

'Dad?' Stevie called as she stepped out of the house. Henry turned and smiled at his oldest daughter. 'I am off to work now, and then I'm going to see Jareth later. I can't say goodbye to you again, our moment over breakfast was hard enough' she confessed.

'Oh Stevie, we're not saying goodbye. I'll see you when you come down next weekend. It'll be ok' he reassured her and pulled her in for a hug. He held onto her tightly and gently squeezed her and rubbed her back. 'I love you Stephanie McCord' he whispered

'Love you too dad' she kissed his cheek softly and slowly slipped from his arms and walked off down the street heading for work. He watched her walking in the distance, the vision of a younger Elizabeth, the girl he fell in love with. He couldn't do it, his anger over the whole situation flooded his veins like venom, he needed to speak with Elizabeth. Henry quickly turned to grab his coat from inside the house and locked the door on his way out. He slipped his keys in his pocket and jumped into the car, demanding Matt drive him to the State Department.

Once he reached the building he rushed inside and headed straight for the lift, frantically pushing the button for floor Seven, like it was going to get him quicker. The doors opened and unveiled the seventh floor, he hastily walked out and marched towards Elizabeth's office. He kept his gaze focused on her office as he walked past Blake.

'Oh Dr McC-' Blake rose but was immediately cut off

'Is she in?' He demanded, not stopping as he continued to walk towards her door waiting for Blake to answer.

'Ur..Y..Yeah' he stumbled, unable to say no to powerful people. He watched as Henry threw the door open, slamming it shut behind him…

Nadine shook her head as she watched Blake cave before Dr McCord. She slowly began to ask people to do various tasks and jobs that were not around the secretaries office.

'Blake' Nadine called, 'Madam Secretary's schedule for today, we need to leak it' she looked around ensuring no other ears were listening.

'What?' He looked confused.

'Print the real one, but leak a fake one. When this hits the news the press are going to consume them, that's why we arranged the removal vans first thing, so they're already gone before the press are aware and it's also why Dr McCord and the McCord children are being driven by a DS agent. Madam Secretary wants to ensure they are as safe as can be. Let's do the same for her' it was an order more than a suggestion, but one Blake welcomed.

'I'm on it' He confirmed and began typing as Nadine walked off.

Elizabeth looked up with a sudden shock as she heard her door being thrown open, her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw Henry enter, his whole demeanour infected with annoyance as he slammed the door shut behind him, securing them in.

'Woah!' She immediately stood up and held out her hands and tried to signal for him to stop, but it was no use. The red mist had flooded his core, his eyes burned and his hands shook as he finally began to unleash his vicious tongue on her.

'That's it!? Is that all you can muster up? I don't get a goodbye? What's wrong with you? Do you have any emotion in you? Are you even capable of thinking of others and not just yourself? How dare you not say goodbye to me. Does twenty plus years not mean a thing to you? I need answers Elizabeth, I need answers' he screamed across the office at her. He shook as the resentment spilled from him. Elizabeth stood motionless, how could he have gotten this all wrong.

'Henry you need to calm down' she advised

'I am calm' he spat across the room and she placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him.

'Sure' came the sarcastic response. 'When you stop attacking me I will speak to you. Until then Henry you won't get a single answer from me' She warned him. Henry inhaled deeply, holding it for as long as he could and then exhaling through his nose, his shoulders dropped and his hands fell to his side as he looked over at her.

'To answer all of your questions; Yes Henry it was all I could muster up, you don't get a goodbye because I simply cannot do it. I can't even begin to think about not having you in my life anymore. I have so much emotion Henry, I have cried almost daily for the last three weeks, if not longer. This is the hardest thing I've ever gone through, including losing my parents so do not come in here shouting at me, insulting me and insinuating that our marriage meant nothing to me, because you're wrong. It meant more to me, more than anything in this world and I cannot gather up the strength to wave it goodbye' She hissed. Her eyes glistened as she bit down on the inside of her mouth, it was time for her to be strong now.

'I…I didn't think…'

'And that the issue Henry, you don't think. You are so consumed by your own anger over Dimitri and my involvement in it that you cannot see things for what they are anymore. Everything has to be met with a level of anger for you to understand it, this is in part why we are here today-'

'Have we got time?' He asked as he walked into the room a little more and stood before her desk, his voice softer and almost begging her.

'Time for what Henry? We've gone over and over this for god knows how many months, nearly every single day. I can't do it anymore' she kept her voice and posture strong, treating it like a Shield of armour protecting her heart.

'I just…'

'Just what Henry? Just want us to keep trying? Just want us to give it more time to see if this is really what we want to say, or what needs to happen? Just give it another hour, another week? No Henry, when you came to me with those divorce papers you made your mind up then, you wanted the divorce, you're getting it. Now I agreed for the protection of the kids to announce this was a mutual decision between us both, do not come in here and push your luck trying to ask for more time. You made your bed, lay in it. Now if you're happy with the statement then close the door on your way out' The more she spoke the more irate she got, her voice climbing in pace and tone as the words tumbled from her mouth, one thing was very clear, she was being honest to herself, she truly couldn't do it anymore. Her acceptance was finally setting in.

Her gaze averted Henrys, the look of her man torn down and defeated because of her and their relationship was something her eyes could no longer see, that version of him was already imprinted enough. A mixture of hurt, anger, confusion, upset and disappointment consumed her as she stood still at her desk, desperately willing to hear the office door close, but nothing. Henry remained in the room. He stood watching her, his own cocktail of emotions shaking up inside him, one minute filled with love and desire for her the next flooded with anger and confusion, both roads led him nowhere. His eyes closed as the memories of the divorce papers in his hand burned his memory, a fire that will never die out. It was supposed to be an ultimatum, a sort of 'this is the final option, are we really there?' moment, however as soon as those papers landed on her desk, her state department desk he knew instantly he hadn't given her an ultimatum, as he had no second option for her.

'Why are you still standing there?' She whispered through gritted teeth. Henry broke from his thoughts and shook his head. Embarrassment from his actions and anger at her intolerance of his presence crept in and he fled with a slamming of the office door. A sound that had become so familiar to her.

Elizabeth stood at the foot of her desk, her arms behind leaning onto the surface as she transferred her weight, perching herself on the edge. Her legs crossed over, her black heels tilting as she rocked her foot back and forth on the heel, her eyes watching intently as her head hung low. She inhaled deeply and blew the air out with a slight force, her eyes pressing shut in an attempt to squeeze the emerging headache out from her. She gripped her desk a little harder for support as she felt her knees weaken beneath the weight of her thoughts. Her mouth ran dry as she tried to swallow her truth.

'Madam Secretary' Blake spoke cautiously and stopped at the sight of her. He dipped his own head for a moment and sighed silently to himself. Elizabeth took a moment before glancing up at him, a smile spread across her lips but her torment lay heavy in her eyes. Blake nodded at her and smiled 'Your plane is ready' he pressed his lips together and watched her move to gather her things, Blake reached to his right to grab her coat and hold It out ready for her to slip on her shoulders.

'Is Daisy ok?' She mumbled.

'Yes Ma'am, she will be fine' he attempted to reassure her but Elizabeth was smarter than that, she glanced up as her fingers ran across her desk collecting various files she needed for her overseas trip. She raised an eyebrow at him and he cleared his throat 'Ok, she is nervous but she will be fine'

'You've said that twice now Blake' she half laughed.

'Madam Secretary, just before we head off, I have to ask, would you like to read over the statement once more?' Nadine asked as she walked into the office, her gaze falling between Blake and Elizabeth.

'No Thank you Nadine, I have had enough of that. Just get Daisy to address the press with it and then we will deal with the aftermath.' She huffed, her irritation growing. 'Let's go. I'd quite like to be in the air when that hits the news' she swallowed hard as she pointed towards her door, signalling time to leave. Blake folded her coat in his arms and grabbed his own belongings following her, Nadine and Jay out of the building, all of them accompanying her on the trip.

Daisy noted her boss leaving the state department and took that as her signal to enter the press conference room. She smiled graciously as she took to the podium and began to address and answer all questions regarding today foreign affairs.

Before Elizabeth knew it she was on her plane and taking off, she fiddled with the earphones in her hand and tilted her head back, her eyes beginning to water as she knew the world would now be aware of her disintegrated marriage. She looked at the table in front of her and toyed with the idea of hearing Daisy address the press. She didn't need to hear it, her mind had been tormenting her with those words ever since they were written days ago. She glanced to the aisle of the plane and smiled as she spotted Blake standing there with a fleeced blue throw for her.

Try and get some rest Ma'am, it's been a long few weeks' he smiled softly. His act of kindness sent Elizabeth's emotions soaring, her tears falling from her eyes and onto her cheeks, each drop holding an infinite amount of heartache. She nodded rapidly and pressed her lips together.

'Thank you' she sniffled.

She placed the throw over her and picked up the earphones placing them in her ears. Her finger ran across the bar at the bottom, loading Daisy's speech, something inside her was telling her that maybe it ended differently to what she wrote, maybe this nightmare was just that; a nightmare and none of it was true. Her moment of hope was short lived, as the venomous words tumbled from Daisy's mouth…

'Good Afternoon, It has recently come to my attention that there have been an increasing number of rumours and questions raised regarding more personal matters. I have not spoken openly on these rumours previously however with the pressure mounting against my family and my staff I feel it's only fair we take a moment and address the truth. I would like to highlight that my staff have been asked by myself and Dr McCord to not discuss this matter with anyone, and to be respectful of the fact that these issues are personal to us and our family, this is not a work related concern, therefore no one, other than the persons directly involved needs any more information that what is said here today. It is with a heavy heart that I ask Ms Grant to address you today to confirm the rumours. Unfortunately Dr McCord and I are filing for a Divorce. I ask that you all respect our privacy during this increasingly difficult and distressing time for our family. Thank you'