OK. I am not a White House historian. This is written as a feel good piece. So whether this could actually happen in March of 2027 I don't know. The idea is to just go with the feelings and think of how much Elizabeth loves Henry, and how much they love the kids
This takes place Post Series.
Xox Brenda who loves the reviews and cried at them and is now encouraged to write even more . Happy Birthday to Tim.
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It was almost Monday March 1 2027 and that meant one thing in the McCord house. It was Henry's birthday and FGOTUS was turning 64. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but his wife knew how she did. As a seasoned second term President she was much more relaxed now than she had ever been since Conrad plucked her off the horse farm all those years ago. The McCord administration had had a rocky start. There was that horrible few months where they worried she would be impeached. Then Stevie had gotten married and she and Dmitri had moved to Africa for a while to help UNICEF with some on the ground projects. Alison had settled in Paris and was working with a fashion house on sustainable clothing that crossed all boundaries. Jason had become a reporter for the New York Times and he travelled the globe to get stories. He had finally realized how to work with the press and both Henry and Elizabeth has sobbed with relief when their son came home a couple of years ago a changed man. He had apologized for the immaturity, and thanked them for being so tough on him. But now, he was going to use those gifts of his to ask the tough questions. So globe trotting was now Jason's passion. Henry and Elizabeth had been very quiet that night. The conversation in bed had been bittersweet. Agreeing that they had healthy, happy kids who were changing the world had been their goal. But now none of the kids were home, and this new truly empty nest gave them both pride and pause. The McCord parents felt as if the townhouse had been full of family. The place where they raised their teenagers; whereas the White House was where the family had transformed into five adults.
Together over a bottle of scotch, Elizabeth and Henry toasted the past, cried a little over this lonely new phase- and hoped that in a few years everyone would settle back home in the US with spouses and grandchildren. It did however set Elizabeth to thinking about her spouse. The man who had always been there for her. The man she had begun to take for granted. They had been a team for so long - until the balance had shifted in 2014.
The last almost 13 years had been largely about her. The move to DC, SOS, a year of campaigning and now she was wrapping up everything she wanted for her legacy. She also had enough clout and confidence to know she could ask for a favour and when she needed to be prudent. So she had begun a small plot to make Henry feel like he was the star, and she could be the woman beside the man for a while. She knew Henry had a dream for their retirement and she was actually going to make it come true early. Planned by her, with help from the kids. She had consulted with his chief of staff Evan and with Jay, and Blake had taught her some of the skills he had so she could book the trip herself.
Feeling very proud she made sure she was up at the crack of dawn on the Saturday morning before his big day; and dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt with a blazer. Her favourite loafers, and her hair in a simple ponytail. She kissed Henry soundly and he awoke- and gazed at her. Her grin was infectious and while he tried to tug her into bed she wouldn't give in. She promised him that yes it was Saturday the 27th of February but that he needed to get up and have a shower. She then made him dress similarly to her and then no breakfast. That would be on the plane she told him and she summoned the SS to get the luggage hidden in the guest room. Henry was speechless as she explained that she had been lying to him for the past week, and that she had been packing for their trip herself. She had been plotting and scheming for almost a year and now she was giving him a taste of what was to come when she would no longer be MomPotus.
They were going away and she had left Morejon to mind the store. This was going to be one week for him she explained. On the plane, she unveiled the itinerary. Paris because they were due to go when she was forced to choose Peoria and then she had fought with him about Jason. And yes- they would tour all the museums and churches with Alison and her fiance Zach Barnow. The A to Z couple had met at Stevie's wedding and were now planning one of their own. It would be just a few days because they were then headed to Rome where had booked an audience with the Pope, and a chance for Henry to spend time in the various libraries perusing documents that almost no one had ever seen. Then they were headed to Jerusalem where there would be more churches and a chance for Henry to explore so many of the places that were mentioned in the Bible. They had 10 days and she hoped that she would not need to do too much as POTUS. She had been saving from her salary since she was in her second year as SOS because she knew she had become a giant pain in the ass and that after the Iran trip- she knew how close she came to making him a widower. How much she relied on him to care for her, the house, the kids. He was her everything, her touchstone, her best friend and because of her - their 25 and 30 anniversaries had been less than perfect. The trip to Anguilla had not happened and Henry never complained. So this trip, she was paying for some of the use of Air Force One. The hotels she was paying for and the SS detail was small and she was paying for that too. She joked that he would have to support her for a few years because she had spent all of her profits on this trip because he deserved every minute of it.
Henry was in tears. She had noticed. She had been thinking of him and she was now honouring him the best way she knew how. She was happy to spend the next 10 days as Mrs. Henry McCord, and also to retire and become a wife and a grandmother. To no longer belong to the American people but to be his again.
He was excited to see the kids and he asked her huskily, how she was was going to manage touring all the churches. Her reply was that she imagined she would learn something and that if she felt bored or overwhelmed, she was just going to suck it up and deal with it because this trip was for him. It had nothing to do with her and she was pretty sure that they would find a way to satisfy one another in the hotels each night. Her eyes danced as she spoke and Henry felt almost breathless as he gazed into her fierce ocean eyes. Oh Babe.
Finally she pulled out an IPad and showed him a video. Henry was shocked and startled to see Paul McCartney there, with a personal message for him. You are 64 now Henry McCord and your wife tells me that I am one of the guys you listen too. So here goes. From Elibet to Hank because she's pledging again to follow you always and anywhere. I am now a very old man, but she swears I still sound good. So here goes nothing. Paul began to play his guitar and sing
"When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a valentine? Birthday Greetings? Bottle of wine.
If I had been out til quarter to 3 would you lock the door
Will you still need me? Will you still feed me when I am sixty -four.
You'll be older too
And if you could say the word, I could stay with you
I could be handy, mending a fuse when your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more
Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I am sixty- four?
Every summer we can rent a cottage in the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear. We shall scrimp and save Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck and Dave
Send me a postcard , drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine forevermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me when I'm sixty four?
As Paul finished this acoustic version he said to Henry that if he had a wife who loved him this much, Henry was a lucky man. Paul then signed the guitar and said it would be shipped to the White House because he knew that Henry loved to play guitar and could add this left handed version to his collection. Then Paul said that Henry needed to close the IPad and turn around.
Elizabeth had two cans of laffy string and she blasted him with both barrels. Her eyes were full of love, mirth and tears.
Henry had never been happier, or more proud to be her husband. He was also suddenly not the least bit apprehensive to turn 64. He picked Elizabeth up, and carried her to the bedroom on the plane and made sure to rub as much of the string onto her face as he could. He also told her that while he loved Paul- if the grandkids were going to be named Vera, Chuck and Dave he wouldn't mind. He made love to her as passionately as he could and she was so relaxed and happy that she had made her husband feel so valued.
He told her she didn't have to do any of it and she demurred. He was the reason she wasn't a lonely woman sitting on the Middle East Desk or as Baghdad station Chief or in jail for plotting to overthrow a the Iranian government. He had taught her to trust in love. To trust in marriage no matter how hard it got. He had made her a mom. He had kept her accountable to herself and to her loved ones. As they weathered every hardship from Desert Storm, to becoming parents, to her career, to saving Dmitri and making Stevie the happiest girl in the world- to raising an anarchist who searched for truth and transparency and all the little things like stalkers, supporting the first female president and all the way back to when she almost died in Iran.
Henry shuddered. That had been the worst . He had almost lost her twice. Once to the danger and once to the PTSD. She had come back from both though and had accomplished so much as POTUS that he was prouder than he ever thought he could be.
He rolled her over and examined the curved scar on her lower back. She tensed first a moment and then she cried. It had been nearly 12 years and still, the memory of all that had happened with respect to Iran in her entire life made her dizzy. She snuggled into his chest and said that she owed her health to him and to Russell Jackson. But today they would soon be landing in Paris and it was time to go on a birthday adventure that celebrated life and that celebrated Henry's passions. Because when they retired she was prepared to have them stand beside one another as they welcomed a new chapter. Henry said that was symbolic too - because with the ERA ratification back in 2022, history would always know that Elizabeth McCord had changed America. She blushed. She said that he was doing it again. Making it about her. She asked him how his vision for arts and veterans had changed the path for America and he sighed and smiled. He had a thought - grinning he said he had a request for her when they retired. Puzzled, with her eyes wide and her nose and forehead crinkled she said she would do her best. Laughing Henry said he wanted her to take cooking classes. Groaning she buried herself under the covers, as the announcement came for them to get ready for the descent into Paris. Elizabeth said she would try, and for that Henry was grateful.
FIN and of course I own none of the characters, nothing with respect to Paul and the Beatles, this is just fan fiction and your kind words are my only profit.