A/N: Russell and Stevie's relationship from another perspective.

Thomas, an eight-year veteran of the White House Transportation Agency, looked over the newbie he would be training. WHTA was staffed by noncommissioned army officers and Thomas had read the trainee's file but rank was a way to start the conversation so he said, "Sergeant first class. You?"

"Staff sergeant, sir."

"And your name is Anita Mendez."

"Yes, sir."

"It'll be up to you whether you want to keep it formal with cargo by using your last name or loosen up and go by your first. I got lucky with my last name being Thomas so I stay formal but it sounds like a first name so there's a familiarity aspect. Let's roll."

In the car, Thomas said, "You know who my cargo is?"

"Russell Jackson, sir. White House chief of staff. Question, sir?"

"Go ahead. But less of the sir stuff. Save it for your cargo. We're army but this is kind of a civilian posting so you don't have to salute or sir me unless a more senior officer is present."

"Yes …"

Thomas grinned. Hard habit to break once it had been ingrained.

Mendez continued. "WHTA is generally four years but you've been here eight years. Why so long?"

"Cargo request. I started in January 2012. By Election Day in November I was all trained up. Dalton's transition team came in the next day. Everybody in the general pool gets rotated among different folks the first couple of months, gives them a chance to know us and us a chance to know them. By inauguration they know who they'd like assigned to them full-time. They call WHTA and say something like 'Send Alfa Bravo if he's available. If not, send Charlie Delta or Echo Foxtrot.' That way they get their first, second and third choices on record. But senior staff is going to get their first choice and chief of staff is very senior. Jackson called and said 'Send Thomas' and that was that. There's a lot of turnover in White House staff and chief of staff lasts about three years so normally about the time he was resigning my four years would be up. But Jackson has been Dalton's only chief of staff for seven years and I suppose he'll make it one more year. He asked if I'd stay on and I said yes so my posting was extended."

"That's impressive. I heard that Mr. Jackson can be difficult."

"You heard right."

"But you get along."

"Sure. He doesn't cut much slack for others or himself but he gets shit done."

They pulled up to the Jackson home, got out and waited by the rear passenger door. Russell Jackson appeared with phone in hand, texting. Thomas opened the door.

Jackson didn't appear to have looked up but he said, "Training your replacement?"

"Yes, sir. I'll be leaving when you do."

Jackson looked up then. Thomas introduced them. "Russell Jackson, chief of staff. Staff sergeant Anita Mendez."

"Honored to meet you, sir."

Jackson said, "They put you with the right guy. Watch, listen and learn."

"Yes, sir."

"Good luck." Jackson got in.

Jackson was on the phone all the way to the White House. After dropping him they parked in the garage and went to the duty room. There were a few others but most were still out on morning pick-ups and drop-offs.

"Jackson gets in early and leaves late," Thomas explained. "He's usually got a morning meet outside the White House and another in the afternoon. Sometimes he goes to state to yell at Bluebird."

"That's Secretary of State McCord in the Truman Building?"

"Yep."

"They appear to make an effective team with President Dalton."

"Those three are the holy trinity of DC. No disrespect to religion, it's just an analogy."

"No offense taken. And none meant when I say I thought you would have admired the Obama administration more than the Dalton administration."

"Barack was my man but he did his eight and he's gone. I'm sorry I didn't get to serve under him. But being black don't mean I can't appreciate whitey when he or she does a good job."

"Jackson could have a security detail but he only uses a car and driver?"

"He refused security. Said he's not in line of succession so he wouldn't take it."

"He really should. Chief of staff is a critical position, especially if succession has to be invoked."

"Pretty sure he'd take it if that happened. Somebody would insist if he didn't. Besides, it did happen a few years back. Bluebird was acting president for a day. But Russell was in the White House all day so a security detail wasn't needed."

"I was deployed then but I remember hearing about it. Crazy confluence of circumstances that bumped fourth in line to the top."

"POTUS and speaker of the house incommunicado on air force one. VP collapsed on the golf course. Senate pro tempore secretly incapacitated by a stroke his staff was trying to hide." Thomas shook his head. "That was a day."

"So what makes Russell Jackson special?"

"Maybe he's not. Might just be the right man at the right time. But I suspect he'd be the right man at any time."

"What qualities do you see in him? Because at first glance he's not that impressive."

"Tell me what you saw."

"Short, fifties, almost bald, wire rim glasses, good suit, shoes and overcoat, nice scarf."

"That's appearance only and describes a lot of old white guys in DC. What else?"

"Sharp eyes, probably doesn't miss much, looks like he's thinking every minute."

"Yeah, he's thinking about a dozen things every minute and he don't drop the ball on any of them. Got a photographic memory."

"I thought there was no such thing."

"Then Russell been faking it for a long time."

"Sounds like you know him pretty well after seven years."

"Didn't take seven years. I did my homework when we seemed to be getting along those first weeks and I thought he might request me."

"What did you find out?"

"He doesn't come from old money like POTUS or family money like Bluebird. He's comfortable now but he earned it. Actually, his wife made more money than him. She was a surgeon. Two specialties – pediatric and transplant – so she was putting livers in kids, things like that."

"Was? Are they divorced?"

"She died. Aneurysm a year and a half ago. But he was divorced a long time back. Second time took. He and Carol were married twenty-three years and he's got two sons. Oldest one is named for Russell's older brother who died in a car accident. Russell was sixteen and was with him."

"Was he driving?"

"No, Kenny was driving. Their truck got t-boned on the driver's side and Russell watched his brother die. Bad thing any time but he took it harder because their daddy left when Russell was nine. Kenny was seven years older."

"That's a lot of bad luck."

"To make it worse, Kenny was one of the last drafted in 1973. Spent a year in country then caught one of the last helicopters when Saigon fell. Came home without a scratch from fucking Viet Nam only to get killed by a drunk driver a few years later. All that messed with Russell's head but he was a smart kid, got a full ride to Harvard and went on to Harvard Law."

"You like that he's a self-made man."

"I'm not saying he's carried a black man's burden but the dude has experienced some adversity. He's due for better luck. Which he's got with his wife."

"I thought he was a widower."

"New wife. They got married last August."

"He didn't waste any time. Are you sure Russell and Carol were devoted?"

"I believe so but, like his first try, they didn't see each other all that much the last few years. That's a commitment you gotta make when you get into politics at this level. But they'd already spent the first half of their marriage close, having kids. You can make it work when you got a good foundation built."

"So who is the third Mrs. Jackson?"

"You really don't know all this?"

"I told you, I've been deployed. Why? Is she famous?"

"I wouldn't say famous but she's known in DC. Mostly for being Bluebird's daughter and marrying the chief of staff."

"Wouldn't she be quite a bit younger?"

"Thirty years."

"Jesus! That's a lot. Is she a gold digger? Jackson can't be very rich working for the government unless he inherited from his dead wife. Maybe he's the gold digger. You said her mother has family money."

"They're in love."

"I smell power and politics with a side of pride for him having a trophy wife."

Thomas shook his head sadly. "So young to be so cynical. You haven't seen them like I have. It's not money. Carol's estate was split between Russell and the sons, and Bluebird and Dr. McCord don't believe in throwing money at their kids. His power is from having the president's ear and that will be over in a year."

"Her parents didn't object to this match made in heaven?"

"They surely did but they went along with it eventually. Probably figured if they asked her to choose them or him, she'd take Russell."

"What's her name?"

"Stephanie. Goes by Stevie."

"I assume they met through the mother."

"Yeah, they knew each other for years without actually being acquainted. Stevie dropped out of college the first few weeks of her junior year, combination of a protest over admission policy and getting treated different because suddenly her mother was sec state. She was twenty."

"Tough to have your life upended like that."

"Stevie had some trouble finding herself. Didn't want to go back to school right away so she got a job, had a few boyfriends."

"Wait a minute. Starrison, right? Stephanie McCord and Harrison Dalton."

"They had a thing for a few weeks. Known each other since they were little. A few dates in high school, went to prom, then off to different colleges. Both dropped out but Harrison's was due to drugs. He didn't take well to being the president's son."

"At least he was age appropriate. Who else did she date?"

"Guy almost twice her age in charge of the microloan program where she interned."

"So Russell isn't her first older man. Plus dating your boss is a bad idea."

"You got that right."

"What does that mean?"

"She interned for Russell for two years."

"You have to be shitting me!"

"Nope. She quit microloan after breaking up with Arthur. Took the LSAT and did well so she asked Russell about Harvard Law. He had a heart attack."

"He was upset that she might move to Boston?"

"No, an actual heart attack. Right in front of her. Stevie gave him CPR."

"Wow. Married her because she saved his life?"

"The heart attack was years ago. Carol was alive and well. Stevie decided against law school so Russell offered her an internship with his office."

"I didn't get a sleazy vibe from him but I have to say this qualifies."

"Hey now, don't get the wrong idea. Nothing was going on then. Stevie met a proper young Englishman and they got engaged. He was going back home and she didn't want to go with him. Then she got involved with a Russian defector. That couldn't last. He got shipped off to Alaska."

"How do you know all this while waiting in the car?"

"My cousin Adele is Russell's assistant. You might say we pool our information."

"So it's true that it all depends on who you know."

"Connections in DC are vital. And they aren't all high-level. Helps to have friends and family in low places, too."

"So how did Russell and Stevie get together?"

"You remember June 2018 when a crazy kid aimed an RPG at the oval office?"

"Of course. Even deployed that got my attention."

"Stevie got hurt and Russell's former assistant died. Could have been Adele but she had taken a couple weeks off so Russell asked June to fill in. Stevie had been back a few weeks when the hospital called to say Carol died. That was a bad time. Stevie called for his car which wasn't usual but every so often Adele or Stevie would call instead of Russell. I thought her voice sounded funny. When they came out they were both a whiter shade of pale. Russell gets in the car and Stevie tells me about Carol. We go to the hospital and then to his house and Stevie's with him every step."

"Sounds like a father-daughter thing."

"Stevie's got a fine father of her own and no daddy issues that I've ever observed."

"A companion for his old age, maybe?"

"Money, power, politics, trophy wife, companionship. I don't blame anybody for thinking of them first because they all happen, that's how they get to be clichés. But that's not the case here."

"I'm skeptical but go on."

"Russell was out of the office for a week after Carol died. He sent me every day to pick Stevie up at five and take her to his house to brief him. Did the same thing when he was recovering from his heart attack. A month later he asked her to help him pack up Carol's things. Then he asked her to go with him to a Christmas party. He'd gone alone in the past when Carol couldn't go so it wasn't like he couldn't have shown up solo. Picked her up at the McCord house and took her to dinner first. Her folks were at the party, too."

"Did they know their daughter was going with him?"

"If they did, they probably thought Stevie was doing a kindness. Soon as they're back in the car, Stevie takes his hand. They don't say anything or even look at each other but they hold hands all the way to her house. Russell walked her to the door. It looked like he was gonna kiss her cheek but she turned her head and lip lock ensued. They ended up in a clinch, no groping, but they wrapped each other up and it lasted until Bluebird's security detail turned the corner. Thought I might have to toot the horn to warn them but they saw the lights and broke it off. Stevie went inside and I drove off with Russell before Bluebird was parked."

"You know, I figured with his age and position that he was the one after her. I'm glad she showed initiative."

"Sounds like you're coming around."

"I'm withholding judgment. But she wanted more than a lame peck on the cheek and she got it. Good for her."

"I suspect it was good for both of them."

"So this isn't a friends without benefits situation."

"Oh no, they definitely enjoying intimate relations. Brought the New Year in with a bang if I'm not mistaken. New Year's Day about four in the afternoon Russell called for the car and I took them to the McCord house. Bluebird and Henry show up an hour later and they're all in there together another couple of hours. Next day, Stevie transferred to VP Hurst's office. A few weeks later Bluebird, Henry, Stevie and Russell went to brunch together. She'd stayed over and I dropped them off at the Blue Duck Tavern but Russell said they'd walk home. They were outed that afternoon but gossip died down pretty fast. Something interesting happened on the other side of the world."

"Did his sons take the news as well as her parents?"

"Seemed to. Ken's in Chicago and Logan in Boston. Over spring break they came to DC and everybody had pizza at the McCord's. Bluebird and Henry left for Paris the next day, leaving Stevie in charge of her brother and sister. Alison was nineteen and Jason seventeen so it's not like she was babysitting. But Russell had to bail Jason out of jail."

"What!"

"Not actually bailed, he was detained with a couple of friends for jaywalking and the police made their parents come and get them. Cops seemed to think they were making a scared straight after school special or something. Stevie got held up at work so Russell picked Jason up. In the car Russell said something and I knew he was going to cheat."

"He's a cheater? Please don't tell me he took a kid with him to a hooker."

"Don't jump to conclusions. Russell is the faithful sort. He asked Jason if he wanted a cheeseburger."

Anita laughed. "He cheats on his diet?"

"Regularly. Jason didn't want to help kill his sister's boyfriend so he refused. Russell had to man up and admit he wanted one himself. He ordered takeout for them and I drove around the block while Jason ran in and got it. They ate at McCord's. Half an hour later Jason comes out with the takeout bag and puts it in the neighbor's trash can. Hid the evidence so Stevie wouldn't find out."

"That's kind of sweet."

"Bros before hoes."

"That's not so sweet."

"Just a saying. I ain't calling Stevie a ho and I'd hurt anybody who did real bad."

"And we're back to kind of sweet. What's the next chapter in this saga?"

"Stevie moved in with Russell after spring break. A month later some girl texting while driving rear ends the car. Russell's nose hits his briefcase and starts bleeding. He said he was fine but I called 911 anyway. He didn't want to be taken to the hospital but I tell the EMTs about his ticker and they take him anyway. Russell tells the hospital not to call his emergency contact but they call anyway. He tells Stevie not to come but she comes anyway. Russell never had so many people pay him no mind and it made him cranky. Then Stevie had trouble getting past ER reception to see Russell and instead of explaining again that she's his emergency contact she told them she was his daughter and they let her in. She's crying because she had to invent an incestuous but believable relationship and Russell's cardiologist is running tests so he can't even hold her. He calls Bluebird who sends Henry. The result of all that drama and trauma is that Stevie asks Russell to marry her and they get engaged in the ER."

"I hope I don't get assigned to somebody dull."

"Probably won't get anybody as good as Russell."

"There may not be anybody else like Russell. Did they get married and live happily ever after?"

"They got married and they seem awful happy. It's a shame they may not get as much time as they deserve."

"They could have thirty years."

"I hope so but you never know with heart trouble."

"What was the wedding like?"

"Small. Immediate family on both sides. Plus POTUS and FLOTUS. Chief justice officiated."

"Chief justice of SCOTUS?"

"He was Bluebird's professor at UVA. They invited a few more for the reception but it was under forty. Extended family, Russell's staff and Bluebird's staff, NSA Hill, joint chief Parker, sec def Becker, NI director Ware and foreign minister Chen from China."

"Low profile wedding but high profile guest list. Did you go?"

"I was there with the car. Security and drivers ate in shifts so there was always somebody on duty. Good food. We got cake and everything and I didn't have to dance."

"Did they take a honeymoon?"

"They went to Togo a few days later. Not an official visit but I believe Russell did some backchannel business there. Stevie was a big hit. She speaks French and folks abroad love it when an American talks their language. She went back to Georgetown full time when they got home. Been taking one class at a time for years but she wants to finish and graduate in May."

Thomas glanced at his phone when it beeped. "Let's go get Mr. Jackson."

Russell, busy with his phone, gave an address without looking up. Thomas recognized it as a corner on the Georgetown University campus where they had picked up Stevie a few times. She was waiting as they approached. Russell put away his phone and got out. They kissed, not a lip lock but it was more than a peck. They spoke briefly and smiled then walked arm-in-arm to the car. They were wearing matching scarves.

"Hello!" Stevie was surprised to see someone else upfront with Thomas.

"Staff sergeant Anita Mendez," Russell said. "My wife, Stephanie."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Jackson."

"Call me Stevie."

Thomas paused at the entrance to the campus. Stevie gave him an address and they merged with DC traffic.

"Beautiful scarves," Anita said. She meant it but it also gave her a reason to turn around. She didn't feel she was intruding. Russell and Stevie were holding hands but not speaking.

"Thank you. They're Jackson tartan. My sister is a designer. She gave them to us for Christmas."

"I love the colors."

"A product of the Ali Mac empire," Russell murmured.

"She has her own brand?" Anita asked.

"And she hasn't even graduated yet," Stevie said proudly. "Alison is a junior but she couldn't wait to get started."

"Well, she is a McCord," Russell said. "She's the bespoke American designer of the Chinese foreign minister."

"Is that what she's saying?" Stevie asked.

"It's on her website and Facebook page."

"Did she list you as a consultant?"

"She tried but I refused."

"I wonder if Ming Chen knows."

"He must have expected it after that airport interview."

"He couldn't have foreseen that she'd list herself as his bespoke American designer."

"He should have. He's known your mother for years. It's on him if he didn't realize what Alison is capable of." Russell pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Sorry, I have to take this." He spoke briefly and put the phone away again.

Thomas pulled up to a medical plaza. Russell and Stevie went inside.

"I hope there's no health problem." Thomas sounded uneasy.

"Cardiology isn't listed," Anita said, glancing at the directory sign. "And they didn't seem upset or worried. There's an imaging office. I bet Stevie is having an ultrasound."

"Pregnant? I should have put it together but it's been three months since the panda."

"That requires some explanation."

"One day last October Russell had me stop at this toy emporium and he comes out with a giant stuffed panda bear. It crossed my mind that was something you might get if you were having a kid but you gotta understand, Russell loves the pandas at the National Zoo so I figured it was a cute gift for Stevie."

"If they found out in October, that would make her about four months gone. The timing is right to check that the baby is okay and find out the sex."

"So she's probably due in June."

"She wouldn't be showing much yet plus it's cold so she's been in sweaters and coats for a couple of months. You're off the hook for not noticing."

Russell and Stevie emerged from the building, arm-in-arm again. There was an air of suppressed excitement about them.

"I believe you're right," Thomas said. "There's a baby on board."

When they were settled in the car Anita asked, "How far along are you?"

"Nineteen weeks." Stevie said happily.

"That obvious, huh?" Russell said.

"I remembered the panda," Thomas said. "Congratulations."

"Did you find out if you're having a boy or girl?" Anita asked.

"Yes, but we're not telling," Stevie said. "Not yet anyway."

"You deserve to enjoy that news, just the two of you," Anita said.

"Let's have lunch," Russell said to Stevie. "Where do you want to go?"

"Smokin' Al's."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What's the catch?"

"No catch."

Russell's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe it."

Stevie sighed. "All right, you pick the place."

"I want Smokin' Al's."

"Thomas, you heard him."

They were still holding hands but Russell stared suspiciously at Stevie who responded with a smile as enigmatic as Mona Lisa's.

After dropping them off Thomas asked Anita what she thought of his cargo.

"Hearing about them they don't sound like an ideal couple but I understand what you mean about seeing them. When they kissed hello, it didn't look obligatory or like they did it for effect. It was … affectionate. They meant it. Same with holding hands. It took me a little while to notice that he puts his phone away when they're together."

"He sets it to vibrate for a call or text from POTUS, Bluebird, Adele or POTUS's assistant Lucy. He's never done that with anybody else and she didn't ask him to do it for her."

"He didn't put his phone away with Carol?"

"Not that I ever saw. It was different with them. They were affectionate but they'd been married a long time. Carol was near his age, a surgeon, confident. Stevie is young, not so sure of herself. I think Russell wants her to feel sure of him."

In the barbecue joint Russell told Stevie to order for them. He looked like he was about to find out the price to be paid for this celebration.

"Triple platter with grilled chicken, pulled pork and smoked brisket. No cornbread. Sides of coleslaw and baked beans," Stevie said crisply. "Two plates, we'll share."

"No cornbread?" Russell asked after the waiter went away.

"Do you really want some?"

"No. I never have room for more than a couple of bites anyway."

"Exactly. All the portions are big. You end up leaving half of everything because you can't sneak it home. With both of us there won't be leftovers."

"No fries?"

"Do you really want some?"

"I guess not. I eat them because they're there."

"You're here for the barbecued meat and we'll have plenty of that. Coleslaw and baked beans are the least offensive side dishes."

"I can live with that."

Stevie smiled. "That's the point, Russell. Your wife and daughter want you to live."