July 5th 7:18am
April twisted and turned in her bed, being haunted by the night of the wreck in her own dreams. She saw her mother hit her head on the window, the blood trickling down her face. She remembered the second they crashed how the seatbelt dug into her chest. She also thought of Mike. That face of defeat when the car crashed on the ice.
With a gasp, April woke up, putting her hand to her head, hating that she had to relive that. Her hands were shaking and she felt cold. Almost like it was her body that hit the icy lake. When April got out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror, she noticed she had tears falling down her face.
She quickly looked away, hating the look of her crying. This was not how she wanted her day to start. With her eyes shut, she thought back on what happened yesterday, smiling just a little bit. She had to get ready to go meet Mike because in a few hours, it would mark twenty-four hours that he and Leah had been divorced.
8:30am
When Mike woke up to his empty apartment, he stretched out, thinking about last night. It was a relaxing day. Basically everything in Washington DC shut down for Independence Day. So, after he got back from the court house, it was just him and April watching old war movies, eating snacks on the couch and just enjoying each other's company, but it never escalated from there.
In all honestly, neither of them knew how to make the first move. I mean they were practically a couple already they just didn't kiss or have sex. They did everything together; they were each other's best friends. She even went grocery shopping with him last week. They were as close as ever, but at the same time, they had never felt farther apart.
He was hoping that today when they met for coffee that they would be able to work through everything and maybe establish a relationship. In all honestly, he was just happy that he was able to see her.
He got dressed and went to April's favorite coffee shop. It had pictures of all the political figures past and present making her feel more at home. He moved to the direction of her favorite table, but when he got there, he didn't just see April, he saw Lynne Jacobs, the Secret Service Director.
He gave the two a confused look as April just smiled at him. She got up, the two meeting in a tight hug, giving April the perfect time to whisper, "Trust me." into his ear.
He nodded, knowing there was no one else he trusted more. They all sat down, going through the small talk as Mike ordered his coffee and April began dipping her tea bag in the hot water. "So," Lynne began. "How was your fourth?"
"My 'fourth' what?" April rolled her eyes as she turned to look at him, noticing the indention of where his wedding ring used to be, that guilt hitting her again.
Lynne didn't even flinch at his sass. She had grown used to it from years of working with him. "Fourth of July. Don't be an ass." April was out of her daze to look at Lynne. The two had been getting real close since Mike had left and she liked to think that was the one thing that saved her. "Some people do take holidays, you know."
"It was quiet. I went to the courthouse to finalize my divorce and then my ex-wife threw a party." He had a fake smile on his face the whole time, making April smile before grabbing his hand, giving it a slight squeeze.
Lynne looked back and forth at the two getting a little smile on her face. She was waiting for the day the two got together. "So, what did you two do?"
April turned back to Lynne, smiling a little bit. "Sat on the couch and watched movies all day."
"And I'm shocked." The two were always dancing around each other, never really saying what they needed to say to get the relationship rolling. She thought the minute his divorce papers were finalized they would be on each other before the gavel even fell, but she thought wrong because the two were still awkwardly avoiding their feelings.
"Ms. Jacobs."
All three of them looked up to see Roma, O'Neil and Jones come toward them. Mike's face fell a little. He thought he was going to have more time with April. "Good morning." She told the group, glancing up briefly from her newspaper.
"How are you, buddy?" Roma asked, leaning forward to shake Mike's hand, Mike making sure his hand went around April's shoulder making him closer to her.
"Hey, Roma. Good to see you. How's the family?"
April smiled at the sound of Roma's family. She loved hearing about all of their lives and truly cared what was going on. "The kids are good. Thanks."
"O'Neil!" Mike spoke moving to his hand, snapping right after they let go of the handshake.
"So we missed you for poker last week." Roma spoke, all three of the men getting a smile on their faces. "Where were you?"
"I miss taking your money."
Everyone laughed at O'Neil's comment before April turned to Mike to see how he would respond. When everyone saw the way she looked at him, their hearts melted. Why the hell weren't they together yet?
"Yeah, I know. I've been working the late shift." Mike scoffed before rolling his eyes. "Nonstop action over at the Treasury." April moved her hand to his again, giving him that squeeze again. He smiled at her, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to make it through the divorce without that little fragile hand squeezing his big ones.
"Well," Roma spoke cautiously, knowing it was a touchy subject. "You gotta do what you gotta do, right?"
Mike nodded and April wanted to change the subject as fast as possible. "Collecting me already?"
"Yeah," O'Neil spoke. "Your dad wants you home so we can take care of some last minute stuff."
"That's right." Mike spoke, looking to April before looking back to the guys. "You guys got a big day. You got the Koreans coming in?"
Roma shrugged while looking over to O'Neil. "Business as usual." He then turned around to the man who had been awkwardly standing in the back for the entire conversation. "Hey, I wanted to introduce you. This is Agent Jones. You've heard of Mike Banning, haven't you?"
Mike's arm rested on the back of April's chair with a smile, waiting to hear what stories had been told about him. "Yeah," he spoke, getting a big smile on his face. "The guy who told the Speaker of the House to go fuck himself."
April immediately began to laugh as her head fell down as Mike smiled proudly at the fact that this was the moment associated him as he nodded in confirmation. Lynne straightened out her paper with a disapproved face before folding it back up resulting in Mike and April trying to hide their amusement. "Don't you guys have somewhere to be?"
"Yes ma'am." They all spoke as one before looking back to Mike and April, wondering how they were going to say goodbye.
April turned to Mike with an excited glance. "The Koreans are coming in at seven." He nodded, waiting for what she was going to say next. "Meet me at eight for dinner?"
Mike nodded, a small smile growing, looking at her lips before going back to her eyes. "Where?"
She thought for a minute before looking back to him with a smile. "That burger place we went to that one time."
He laughed before nodding in agreement. "Burgers and beers."
"See ya." She spoke, the two leaning in to give each other kisses on their cheeks before she grabbed her purse, stood up and followed her security detail out.
Mike watched her the whole time and once they had got in the car and drove away, Mike began thinking about his old job again, the look evident on his face. "Not getting any easier, huh?"
"No." He answered quickly before taking a sip of his coffee. "I want back in." He spoke suddenly, making Lynne look up from the email she was sending. "Desk job is killing me."
"Mike," she spoke as she looked back down to her phone. "Everyone knows you did the right thing on that bridge. Hell, even the President knows." She then looked back to him, throwing her phone on the table. "He just doesn't want to see you and be reminded of it every day." She looked to her coffee beginning to put creamer and sugar in it. "And then there's April to think about."
Mike suddenly thought back on what she had told him. He was having dinner with April tonight. The two of them. No Leah. No Megan. No Troy. Just each other. Were they going on a date? Mike opened his mouth, taking a minute to think it over again. "Did April just ask me out on a date?"
She looked to him with a thinking face on. "I was gonna ask you if you knew because I was curious about that too."
Mike gave her a terrified look, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do. Lynne suddenly gave him a smile, shaking her head at him. "You know, the first time you walked into my office out of the darkness you needed therapy then, never mind now. And you don't exactly do yourself any favors."
"Where are you going with this?" Mike asked, brows knitted in confusion.
"Mike," she spoke seriously. "You have got to learn to get back into the real world." Mike nodded, knowing she was talking about April. He had to let it go and be in a real relationship with April. It was time and they had both tugged on each other's sleeves long enough.
"Yeah, that's a good one, Jacobs. Let me write that down."
That's when she picked up her things, detecting his sass and not wanting to be any part of it. She headed for the door before Mike stopped her from walking out, knowing she was just trying to help. "Hey, Jacobs." She stopped, about to open up the door, looking back to him as Mike's smile grew. "Thanks."
She simply smiled at him, giving him a nod before exiting the coffee shop, leaving Mike to think about everything she said. She was right. He had to move on for April if they were ever going to be together.
Shortly after Lynne left, he got up from his seat, tipped their waiter and then moved to his car parked across the street. His jaw tightened as he thought of that Christmas Eve all over again. He remembered April laying there, Maggie almost as worse as the condition her daughter was in. He remembered dragging April out of the car as she pleaded for him to stay with her, for him to not go back in the car. Mostly, he remembered the look on Maggie's face when he dragged Ben out of the car and the look of utter pain on Ben's when the car hit the ice.
As Mike started driving, he began to think of April. He pulled out his phone, quickly dialing her number, hoping she would answer. But April was too busy in the back of the car going through the points her dad wanted her to look over before he talked with the South Korean Prime Minister.
When the phone went to voice mail, Mike sighed obviously a little disappointed, but he loved to leave her messages and she loved when he left them. She loved to go back and listen to them when she was particularly lonely. "Hey," he spoke into the phone. "I'm just checking in." Mike took a moment letting out deep sighs, feeling guilty about the fact that April didn't have a mother anymore because of him. That was the one thing that always got him about being with April. The guilt. "I'll call you later." He took a pause, wanting to get something out after thinking about the accident all over again. "I love you." And with that, he hung up and continued the drive to work.
10:15am
"So," Megan began on the phone after April had explained everything to her. "It's a date?"
April ran a hand through her hair, not really sure what to say. "I don't really know."
Megan sighed, getting irritated with the two. Why wouldn't they just get together all ready? "And you're telling me you spent all day at his house yesterday and nothing happened?"
"Don't give me that." April spoke with an eye roll. "We're taking it slow."
"As opposed to the both of you being single for four months and neither of you doing anything about it?"
"You're the one who told me not to do anything with him until he was one hundred percent divorced."
"Yeah," Megan spoke irritated. "I didn't think you would actually listen to me." April rolled her eyes at her best friend again. She was so unreadable at times. "Besides, he got one hundred percent divorced yesterday. Why don't you two just jump each other's bones already?"
"It's not just about jumping each other's bones."
Megan shook her head, knowing April almost as well as Mike did and she was stubborn. "I'm just saying that as long as you two have been apart and been in love with each other, you two deserve to be together for once."
April sighed, knowing she was right, but at the same time, she was still holding off a relationship with him again because of how harshly he left her over a year ago. It still hurt her and the thought of being in a relationship with Mike again was breathlessly excited as it was severely irritating. "So are you gonna call him back from earlier?" Megan knew this was a touchy subject and she didn't want April to think about it for too long.
"He's at work right now, but I feel like I should. He sounded really torn up."
"Maybe trying to figure out if it's a date or not."
April gave her a smile, wishing she could talk to Megan about this in person. "Shut up."
"Look, I'm pulling into work right now so call me after the date. I should be off by then."
April nodded, even if she knew Megan couldn't see it. "I'll call you after the date."
"Aw, you called it a date!" Megan squealed as she walked into the hospital.
"Go to work." April complained.
"First day without Leah." April smiled, thinking about it again. Leah transferred to another hospital a few days ago and April and Megan were thrilled. It was getting beyond awkward. "I will enjoy work today."
"Love you." April spoke dramatically.
"Love you too." Megan spoke before hanging up the phone and putting her stuff up before going to clock in and work with her patients.
4:26pm
Ben was getting ready in his closet, making sure to put on the watch Maggie had gotten him for Christmas. With that, he felt like she was always with him in some way. When he walked into his room, he got a big smile on his face. His kids were sitting on the couches in his room both with their noses buried in their books. They were the things keeping him going.
He sat on the arm of Conner's chair, April finishing up the page she was on before looking up at her father. "Hey," Conner looked up at him, wondering what his father was going to ask him. "Which one do you like?"
April smiled noticing the two ties in his hands. One blue and one red. Ben already knew she was going to pick the blue one, but he wanted to know what Conner thought. "I don't know." Conner mumbled before looking back down at his book as April smiled at him.
Ben looked over to his daughter, the two exchanging a smile before he wrapped the red tie around Conner's shoulders going with April's silent choice. "Okay, you take that one and I'll take this one."
Currently, Ben was trying to convince his kids to go on a vacation for the summer. Just a week or two. It was something they really needed since they hadn't spent time as a family in a while. "We can get some fishing in, hit the bag together, lay by the pool. It'll be fun."
April sighed, hating that out of all the presidential resorts they could have gone to, he picked Camp David. And she knew Conner was thinking about it too. "But I hate Camp David." April looked up to Conner, a chill running down her back as she thought about how cold she was sitting on that frozen bridge. A hand went to her scar just barely peeking out of her shirt, rubbing it as the stinging pain came back. Ben looked back in his mirror, seeing April's expression, immediately regretting his suggestion. "Can't we go somewhere else?" Conner asked hopefully. "You know, the beach?"
April gave her brother a slight smile as he turned to look at her, knowing he was just thinking about her. "Yeah," he spoke, fixing his tie before turning back to his kids. "The beach does sound kind of better."
He sat down on Conner's chair again, looking to his watch before looking back and forth at his kids. "Hey, I got three minutes, let's run down to the kitchen and get some ice cream."
"Yeah." Conner spoke excitedly as he put his book to the side.
Ben turned to his daughter who was giving him an excited smile. "What do you say, April? Chocolate chip or rocky road?"
"Well," April spoke as she got up, moving to her father. "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna have some of the rocky road before you eat it all again."
He gave her a serious look with a smile creeping out of his lips. "I don't remember it quite like that."
"You really did, Dad." Conner spoke, backing up his sister. "I didn't even have some."
There was a knock on the door as Ben put his arm around his daughter before looking to the door, a smile still on his face. "Come in!" He called.
Immediately, Roma opened up the door, looking straight to the President. "Mr. President, we're ready for you."
April looked over to her brother, noticing his face falling as Ben looked down to his watch. "Already?"
"Yes, sir." Roma confirmed with a nod.
Ben immediately turned back to his children, April giving him a slight smile, even if she was a little disappointed, she still understood. "Sorry guys."
Conner shook his head, a frown still on his face. "It's okay, Dad."
He ruffled Conner's hair before giving him a kiss on the top of his head and gave April a kiss on her cheek before he walked out of the room. April took her father's place on the arm of the chair Conner was sitting on, looking to Conner with a smile on her face. "Hey," He looked up at her, still a little disappointed. "We can still get ice cream."
Conner got a huge smile on his face as April leaned in close before yelling out, "Race you!"
And with that, she was gone. "Wait!" Conner yelled, throwing his book to the side before running after her down the halls, the staff hurrying to get out of their way. "That's not fair!" They all laughed before continuing with their tasks, knowing the Asher kids would always be as hyper and energetic as they were when they first got here.
6:29pm
All of Washington DC was flooded with sirens as police escorted the South Korean Prime Minister to the White House. Tourists were intrigued with what was going on, but for the natives, it was just another ordinary day to them.
Mike was getting distracted by all of this, wishing he was there right now with all of his friends, doing the job he loved. He promised April they would go out tonight so he looked back to his computer to continue his work.
Tourists crowded around the White House to get pictures of what was happening. Inside the White House, all of the Secret Service ran through their preparations one last time to make sure everything was just right before the Koreans pulled into a parking space.
Most of the Secret Service was surprised to see Forbes come out of one of those cars, not having much contact with him since he left, but Forbes was like that. They just didn't expect to see him today of all days.
Roma was the one to greet the Prime Minister and bring him in as both Roma and Forbes trailed behind to catch up like old friends.
7:00pm
Conner laid on April's bed as she brought out outfit after outfit for him to look at. "Isn't this something you should be doing with Megan?"
"She's at work so you're my next best option." She pulled up the possible shorts that could go with the top she had already showed him. "Now teal or green?"
Conner studied it for a minute before pointing to the teal one. "Teal, it makes you look tanner."
"Cool." April spoke before putting the outfit on her bed next to all the other options.
"So, is this a date?"
April sighed while running a hand through her head again, all of this reminding her of the conversation she had with Megan this morning. "Why does everyone keep asking me this?"
"Because literally everyone wants to know if you and Mike are gonna get back together or not."
"Look," April spoke as she sat down next to her brother, not sure how to talk to him about this when he's never really experienced love like that. "It's been four months since I broke up with Troy and broke his nose."
"And permanently deviated his septum." Conner butted in.
"You weren't even there, Conner."
"I saw the pictures. His nose is permanently messed up."
"Okay," April spoke, throwing her hands up like it wasn't really a big deal. "I might have deviated his septum. The point is that I do want to be with Mike again, but I'm afraid that if we get back together too quickly that it won't work like it used to."
"But if you both love each other then why is it a problem?"
April looked down, not sure how to tell him any of this. "Conner,"
"April," Conner spoke, interrupting her. Conner's eyes were fixed on something outside the window, confusing her. "Look."
She turned around to see smoke coming up not too far away from their house. "Oh my god." April whispered as she stood up.
Ben was being rushed to the bunker, telling anyone who had a hand to spare to find his children and bring them to the bunker safely.
Sirens began to go off, causing April and Conner to panic. April turned to her little brother, knowing she had to act like she wasn't scared. "It's gonna be okay. We've been through drills before. We just have to get to the bunker as fast as possible." She laughed a little while shaking her head. "It's probably just a fire close by and they want to make sure we're safe. It's just a precaution."
Conner nodded as she grabbed his hand and began to guide him out of her room. It was like their home was now a ghost town. No one was in it. They had all probably made their way into the bunker and the staff had all left for the day by now. Sirens were still blaring, making their panic rise.
When April pulled him to the stairs so they could get to the bunker, shots rang out making them both jump, not knowing where it was coming from. April turned to her brother, looking him in the eye intensely. "Stay right here." He nodded even if he was shaking so hard from his fear. April ran to the nearest window watching as the Washington Monument was being shot down. She put a hand to her mouth, knowing that was something that would haunt her nightmares.
7:06pm
Mike was running down the steps of the treasury only having one thing in mind. April. An hour before he was supposed to meet her, this happened. The streets of Washington DC had become a battle zone. People were being shot as every type of military, Secret Service and police units were out trying to protect everyone they could.
Mike hurried down the street, yelling for everyone to take cover grabbing the first people he could collect and pulling them down to hide behind a car as shots fell down on the street. Once the plane passed, Mike got up, knowing the one thing he had to do was get to the White House. He ran down the street as fast as his legs could take him, the only thing on his mind being April's safety.
7:10pm
"April!" Conner called hurrying back to her.
April turned around quickly, getting on her knees so she could look right at him. "Conner, I need you to go into the walls."
"But April – "
"Conner, please, just do what I say." She put her hand on his hair, rubbing it back. "Go by the Lincoln Bedroom, your favorite hiding spot and I'll meet you there. I have to do something really quick, okay?"
"April," Conner cried out as a plead just breaking April's heart. "I'm scared."
April let a few tears roll down her cheek, knowing she could break her strong wall down for just a few seconds. "I know, I'm scared too, but for right now, I need you to be brave."
Conner nodded as April leaned in to give him a kiss on the head before letting him run off. She watched him until she couldn't see him anymore, hoping he would get there okay. She couldn't stand there all day, though. She had to hurry and she had to get back to her brother.
April took off into the direction of the Oval Office and when she got there, that's when the shooting started. April immediately dropped to the ground as her father's office was ripped to shreds by bullets. She screamed throwing her hands to her ears as the bullets kept flying, but she knew it was useless. No one would be able to hear her screams from here.
Eventually the bullets stopped, but she still didn't trust to get off the floor yet. That's when she heard an explosion. Tears freely fell down her cheeks as she clutched her hands to her chest. This was a terror attack and she was right in the middle of it.
7:12pm
Mike walked up to the gates of the White House, taking everything in. Bullet holes stained the house he once knew like a home. And he knew April was inside there. He ran a hand through his hair as he felt tears poke at his eyes. Was she okay? Was she even alive?
April finally got up from the floor and looked out the window. She saw the Washington Monument lie in ruins and she saw people gathered around her house as the smoke blew around it. She put a hand to her mouth, not able to stop the tears from flowing freely. This was her home and they had destroyed it.
And in a moment, the stars aligned and both Mike and April happened to glance in each other's direction. April put her hand to the window, dirty and filled with ash as Mike gripped the gate in front of her house, both feeling an insane desire to hold each other. April gasped, the tears stopping in a moment just at the sight of her love. "Mike." She whispered out.
Mike gripped the gates tighter, almost finding himself able to hear her voice trickle through his ears and dance around his brain. "April."
They stayed like that for a few moments until a nearby bus exploded, breaking the area into chaos again.
stormrunner74: Haha I'm sorry. It slipped my mind. Still love you though!
Igor Blonsky: Honestly forgive him already Ben! And the doors blocked the sound so he couldn't hear her say that.
Mrs. Happy Anarchy: I think we can all agree we hate Troy and glad he's out of the story now. Honestly, who does he think he is? And omg I can't wait for it either. I have the scene perfectly in my head and I can't wait for you guys to read it.
CoolCat0720: Here is your daily dose of Mike and April!
NGArmyWife: Let them be together already, Ben!
Kagome309: Thanks for the support, love!
Well, it took me seventeen chapters, but we are now getting to the movie! I'm so excited to write it and I'm excited for you guys to read it. Let me know what you think by reviewing or if you want, you can ask me questions about any of my stories on Tumblr. My username is janaespecter14! See ya next time, loves!