AN: Hopefully this ties up everything nicely. If you made it this far, congrats
Husband and wife sat waiting for him around the kitchen table. The silence of the house, a contrast to the scene happening outside on the sidewalk, spoke to the seriousness of the situation.
"Nadine spoke with me," Henry said.
She stood by the counter, hands on her hips with one manicured brow arched as she supervised.
"One mistake…" One mistake that they had repeated nearly every day for the last fourteen months. "…shouldn't cost this country the leader it will need."
Was Henry saying what he believed he was saying?
Blake turned to Nadine and without a word, she nodded.
Yes, Henry was telling him that he would continue to stand by his wife's side. Henry, the coveted Catholic, would continue to take his Elizabeth, to be his wife, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, through adultery and through betrayal, until death did them part… Or at least until the electoral votes were cast.
He took a seat.
The country would look to him for his reaction and follow his lead. And although voters wouldn't forget, they could forgive alongside her husband.
"Thank you," Blake said.
Months ago, he'd come to terms with the likelihood of ruining their marriage, but the one thing that he would never be able to forgive himself for was possibly keeping her from running for the office that she was destined to hold.
Henry slid a newspaper across the table. "Tomorrow's cover of the Times," he said.
"Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord resigns from post, citing an extramarital affair."
An hour after watching his father announce his resignation, he'd watched Elizabeth give hers on the front step of her Georgetown home.
Last week, Conrad had promised to do his best to keep her. "I still want you," he'd said as Russell stood behind him, hand outstretched, awaiting her letter of resignation. Although her time as Secretary of State was over, the presidency still lay ahead.
Blake sighed as his eyes skimmed the printed black lettering.
They'd included the picture from the feature in Veranda— a glimpse into a warm Saturday in May. Perfectly blue skies, manicured green grass, and people milling about. There was white wine, button-downs, and expensive smiles. His mother was pictured standing by Michelle Lockwood. Both had a glass of wine balanced in their hands. His father was seated at a table with two of his former business colleagues. Each was sporting a stern face. Meredith was leaned into her husband by the pool loungers. He imagined she was between moments of wringing her hands. And him? He'd thought that he must've been out of frame, but there, there, by the pool house was he and Elizabeth engaged in a kiss.
There was a photograph of his father from the press conference this morning housed below the fold. He stood behind a podium as he told the press that he would be stepping down as CEO. The section hit on the $102.5 million dollar settlement with the SEC and Peter McLean's appointment.
"Tough day to be a Moran," Henry said as he stood.
"Yeah," he mumbled.
His eyes glanced toward Elizabeth as he pushed the paper away. She played with the fringe at the edges of the placemats. She still hadn't looked at him once since he'd been secretly ushered inside by DS.
"Liz," he whispered as he touched her hand.
"You should be going, Blake," Nadine told him.
He swallowed as his eyes hesitantly left Elizabeth and turned toward the kitchen. Henry was by the stairs, staring at them, while Nadine stood in the same spot by the island.
"One minute," he insisted.
Henry wasn't reluctant to disappear upstairs, but he knew Nadine wouldn't let them be alone, so he didn't bother asking her to step out of the room.
"Why does this feel like goodbye?" Elizabeth was tearing up as her fingers touched the frayed threads. "What will you do?"
He took her hand into his and squeezed. "I'll be okay."
He would go back to splitting his time between Boston, Connecticut, and New York. His family needed him as much as she had over the years. Meredith would become CEO. Elizabeth would become president. Maybe his calling was standing a step behind powerful women, supporting them from near and from afar.
"Will you at least call?"
"No," he told her, and finally, she looked up.
Tears welled in the corners of his eyes.
"Elizabeth," he said.
This was the woman he'd told nearly everything to for the last two years. This was the woman he thought about as he smiled to himself during his morning commute. She was the woman he took home to Connecticut to "meet" his parents, the woman he thought about possibly marrying in another life. So, no, he wouldn't call her because it would make this that much messier and that much harder than it had already proved to be.
She was crying now, and he couldn't stand to see her hurting.
"I should go," he said after he stood.
"Wait." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I…" She wiped her eyes as she slowly pushed back her chair and walked toward him.
He tried to force a smile. He would be strong for both of them. But it wouldn't come.
When she stepped into him, his arms wrapped around her frame.
Maybe in a few years, after her first term, Henry would choose to forgive him. Maybe he would give him a call from his office in the East Wing and tell him that his and Elizabeth's relationship has never been stronger than it was now.
"Do you regret it?" He asked.
"Which part?"
"Us," he said.
She fisted the back of his sweater, pulling him closer. "I love you," she said without a doubt, leaving no room for denial.
He stepped back and gently took her face into his hands. He was crying now too. He didn't care that they had an audience as he leaned in and kissed her.
Nadine had warned him. "You're taking her home?" She'd said that it took the cake of terrible ideas, of course, other than the one where he thought it was okay to jump into bed with Elizabeth McCord.
He'd thought that he must've been out of frame, but there, there, by the pool house was he and Elizabeth engaged in a kiss.
His inhibitions had been lowered from all the wine he'd guzzled. His emotions had boiled over after holding Meredith's hand through her breakdown over white-collar matters. They'd been in Connecticut, for God's sake. They had been within the gates of his family's estate, among friends and family who had bigger secrets to hide than a lousy affair. But he should have known that they were never safe.
When their lips parted, he pulled her back into his arms.
"I'm so proud of you," he told her.
This, them being together, had been their safe place after they had happened. The past year had consisted of days filled of late and lonely nights on the seventh floor. Sex had happened. The past year had consisted of days filled of discrete hand-holding, quick kisses hidden from the staff, and hotel rendezvouses kept from her family. Secrets had happened. The past year had consisted of days filled of laughter, of tears, of angry words screamed from across the room, and of apologizes and promises. Emotions had happened.
"You're so strong, Elizabeth."
He hoped that she remembered so when she and Henry worked through the mess that currently was their marriage.
"I believe in you," he said into her hair.
He hoped that Nadine, and eventually Henry when he decided to be kind again, would tell her the same when she didn't believe in herself.
"I—" His voice cracked, but he would be strong for both of them. His lips found her ear. "I love you," he whispered. It was definite, leaving him with a bunch of messy feelings that he would spend years working through with a therapist.
He'd known that affairs weren't easy. They were messy, raw, and time-consuming. And yet, he'd still fallen into this relationship with her.
"I'm sorry for complicating your life," she said against his chest.
He chuckled as he glanced toward the paper sitting on the kitchen table. "My life would be complicated with or without you, Elizabeth McCord." He kissed her forehead. "We're both going to be okay."
He didn't know that for sure, but she had a team in D.C. who truly supported her, who would support her through adultery and through betrayal, and he had a family up the coast who would take in his secrets and lies as their own.
They broke apart, both crying.
"I'll wear down my dad on voting for you."
She laughed through her tears.
"Meredith might be a lost cause," she said.
It was his turn to laugh.
Elizabeth backed away and stood beside Nadine.
"This is going to blow up," she'd said, and it did. Somehow, a ninth-page feature in Veranda magazine had turned into a cover story of the Times.
"I'll see you on TV," he said.
