Day 10

Blake Moran hated exercise of any kind. He supposed his hatred of running and sports stretched all the way back to the playground, when his classmates had teased him mercilessly for his rail thin frame. He'd been awkward and ungainly and much more likely to sit on a bench with a book, listening as the older girls stood around talking. Despite his hatred for exercise, he was running now. He ran down the long corridor of the old Banski Dvori, which housed the Croatian government offices.

"This way." Jay said opening the door for him. "We just took a break."

He nodded at Jay who followed him into the room, where Elizabeth McCord was seated at a long, now empty table with Nadine leaning over her left shoulder. The two women were studying a document. She glanced up at Blake with bright blue eyes, reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. Her expression, which was cheerful and relaxed changed seeing his face.

"Catch you breath first." She told him. "Then tell me."

He nodded his head at her, trying not to reveal how much the run through the long hallway had exhausted him. It felt like he was standing at the edge of the playground being judged for his athletic ability once again.

"They are willing to speak with you." He finally told her. "But it is a really brief window of time."

"Now?" She asked him.

He glanced at his wrist. "Seventeen minutes. They are setting it up in your room, so we need to leave right now."

"Alright." She rose, removing her glasses and sliding them into her pocket. "Nadine, can you . . ."

"I'll finish up here, and meet you back at the hotel later." Nadine said with a nod. "Jay go with her."

Blake led the Secretary of State out to where the black SUVs waited. He followed her inside the car with Jay just behind them.

"Ma'am, I sent you the reports you asked for, but did you have a chance to look them over."

"I did." She smiled at him. "Thank God for jet lag, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am." He agreed.

"Does anyone know about his phone call?"

"No. Just us." Blake told her.

"The tricky part is we need to negotiate with them without looking like we are negotiating with them." She shook her head. "This would all be a lot smoother if we could count on our ambassador to handle this with a bit of finesse but that seems unlikely."

"Very unlikely." Jay emphasized.

"Alright, we'll try and muddle it through." She leaned back against the seat, and Blake was amazed as ever that she seemed so calm and relaxed. She was literally going from one crisis to the next, but gave no indication of stress. He hardly ever knew her to show stress - in fact the only times he could remember were immediately following Iran, and waiting for Henry to testify. She caught him studying her, and he turned to gaze out the window watching as bright blue waves broke against the pale sand.

***MS***

Day 11

"It's Henry, ma'am." Blake said, holding a phone out to Elizabeth McCord.

"What?" She looked up from the file she'd been reading. "He didn't call my cell?"

"Your battery is dead." Blake explained.

"Oh, that's right." She reached for the phone, waiting for Blake to disappear from the room before answering.

"Sorry, baby." She said immediately. "The plug I bought doesn't work. Blake is getting me a new one."

"Hi." Henry said with a laugh.

"Sorry, hello." She smiled. "Things have been so . . . how are you guys?"

"We're fine." He told her. "It looks like you wrapped things up. So, you are heading home?"

Elizabeth sighed. She knew that he would be disappointed by her next sentence. She was disappointed by her next sentence. She decided to try and delay the inevitable.

"We should come back here with the kids - or maybe without them. Everyone is right, Croatia is beautiful." She told him.

"Elizabeth . . ."

"We've got our last meeting this afternoon - they will sign the agreement, but something else has come up."

"So you are staying." Henry said flatly.

"Yes."

"I'm looking at my tv screen right now, and every channel is showing protesters gathering all over Eastern Europe." He pointed out.

"I'm perfectly safe." She told him. "Henry, I'm surrounded all the time."

"So, there are protesters."

"Things have become a little bit complicated over here, and people are gathering to express their thoughts." She said calmly. "But you can't stare at that tv. You know they exaggerate and get things wrong."

"Right." He sighed loudly. "'The Secretary of State was involved in a minor incident in Iran.' Stories like that really blow things out of proportion."

"Henry, don't . . ."

"I'm sorry. That was unfair."

She had to smile, despite her irritation and frustration. Henry was unfailingly good, and always quick to apologize. She stretched the tired muscles in her back, wishing she was home and they were curled up watching a movie, a glass of wine in her hand.

"No. It was fair. I should have called you. I'm the one who is sorry. Tell me about the kids."

"Oh, they are fine. I'm keeping Ali away from the news, and Jason going through an epistemologistic phase."

"Like father, like son." She said laughing.

"Well, he leans more to the pessimistic side of things, so more like: like father, like opposite of father." He sighed, and paused. "So, you've got no return date?"

"Not right now." She admitted. "We have some things to clean up over here, but I promise you nothing dangerous."

He laughed. "Don't make promises you can't keep, baby. Besides, I know you are surrounded. I just don't like that you are beyond my reach."

"I know." She leaned back, glancing at the clock across from her. "Babe, I have to go, I'm sorry."

"Well, it's nearly 4 in the morning. I ought to try and get some sleep." He sighed.

The silence hung between them for a few long minutes. She knew that there were at least forty things she ought to say to him - truths she was holding back for his peace of mind. The most difficult part of their "new" life were all the ways she had to duck and dodge the truth - all the things she could never tell him. She hated it. Hated it with every fiber of her being.

She had been reluctant, at first, to leave the CIA, but it was precisely forty-eight hours after she'd left that she had been overwhelmed with an intense sense of relief. She hadn't realized until that moment how very much she had hated keeping parts of her life away from Henry. She was holding Jason in her arms and watching the girls run to greet Henry in the driveway, when a wonderful feeling of relief and joy washed over her. Henry was home after a long day, and there wasn't a solitary thing she couldn't tell him. He'd walked up to her a smile on his face Allison in his arms, and Stevie holding his hand. His smiled had faded slightly and concern washed over his face, as he saw she had tears in her eyes.

"What is it?" He had asked her.

She brushed at a tear, "No, I'm just . . . I'm really happy." She glanced at Stevie looking up at them with wide and curious eyes. "I'll explain later." Her face breaking into the widest of smiles as she leaned forward kissing him. "I'll tell you everything, later."

"Elizabeth? You still there?" He asked, breaking her out of her memories.

"Yes. I'll call you later, okay? My phone should be back on track tomorrow. I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay. Blake is easy to track down." He said with a laugh. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She told him. "I'm just disappointed. I wanted to be heading home this afternoon."

"Yeah. Me too. It's okay to call here even if it's late. Odds are I'm up."

"I love you, Henry."

"That's sweet, kid. I'm still on the fence, so you'll have to convince me when you get home." He said, smiling as she laughed.

"Bye, baby." She said, shaking her head.

"Bye, sweetheart."

She hung up the phone, and stood, reaching for her jacket even as Blake knocked on the door.

"I'm ready, Blake. You can come in."

"The car is ready, ma'am." He said accepting the phone that she handed to him. "Your phone is still charging, but should be good to go by the time the meeting ends."

"Thank you, Blake." She reached for a file, and glancing around the room followed him out of the door of her room. As she exited, she impulsively reached for the note that Henry had handed her when she had left. She hadn't read it yet; had nearly forgotten about it, but now felt that she needed to have it with her.

"Is everything ready to go here?" Blake asked her.

"Yes, but I might have left some things in the bathroom."

"I'll pack up the rest, then." He told her. "Frank decided it has to be by car. The airport is too unstable."

"I told you."

"I'm glad I didn't take that bet." He admitted as they strode to the car. "Is there anything else you need?"

"We've got that call later?"

"Yes, ma'am. You'll be travelling by then, but it should work out fine. The Ambassador is on vacation, so it shouldn't be . . ."

"She's on vacation?" Elizabeth's eyes grew wide, as she paused at the open door of the SUV. "She didn't think kidnapped American teenagers was important enough to interrupt her holiday?"

"Well, it makes it easier for us, doesn't it?" Blake said with raised eyebrows. "I mean you can't step on toes that aren't there."

She shook her head. "When did you become an optimist, Blake?"

"I'm sure it is temporary, Madam Secretary." Blake told her.

She was laughing as she settled into the seat of SUV, watching the bright light and blue waters of Croatia as they sped toward their final meeting.

"It is very pretty here." She said softly, wishing that she was walking barefoot through the soft sand, holding Henry's hand in hers.

***Author's Note***

Well, I'm grateful for your patience! I had no intention of keeping you all waiting so long - assuming anyone is actually waiting for an update (LOL)! Sorry for the tremendous delay. I promise to update in a more timely manner, but as Henry cautioned, maybe I shouldn't make promises that I can't keep. Happy M'Sec Day!