Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter! Hope you guys enjoy chapter 19!
ERIN
I left the Matthews house that night feeling more confident than ever. I don't know if it was the kind smile on Nicole's face, the way that Steve looked at her, his gaze so full of love. Maybe it was that their daughter Beth just seemed to glow, also bubbly and bouncy, something that I'm sure more than is credited to the way that she was raised. But I think more than all of that, I think it was the way Tate was. I couldn't tell could what it was, but he just seemed at ease, comfortable, even just after a few hours. It was wonderful. It reminded me why I wanted to do the job in the first place and I now have a standing invitation to their Wednesday night dinners for as long as Tate needs them, which I'm hoping won't be long.
I kinda miss having him in the apartment, even though it was just a couple days, the company was nice. He was quiet and didn't say much most of the time, but I wasn't alone and that was nice. Sitting alone in my apartment watching the news as the night goes on around me makes the long distance relationship thing just a little bit harder. But then I remember all the things that are great about him. And it definitely helps as I see the ribbon announcing President Juliette Halstead as the presumptive Democratic nominee dance across the television screen.
JAY
It's a day for celebration in the White House, the entire staff in a better mood then I've seen since inauguration day. It was always assumed that she would get it, but we've learned around here not to assume anything. I wave to my mother's secretary Megan as I walk into the Oval, who quickly waves me through.
"Congrats Mom," I say with a smile as I spot her sitting behind her desk, reading through a stack of papers with her glasses resting on her nose, her red hair pulled into a twist behind her head.
"Thanks baby," She says, dropping the papers and coming over to meet me.
"You doing some kind of press junket tonight?" I ask her as she pulls me in for a hug.
"Not tonight," She says, "Too late, but I'll be making a quick appearance in the press room. We're flying out to Charlotte tomorrow morning to do a quick speech, take some photos, quick trip."
"When's the convention again?" I ask her.
"July 10th through the 12th," She tells me. "You know, you're allowed to bring a guest."
"Really?" I ask.
"Yeah of course," She replies, "I think you brought Zoe with you last time,"
"Anyone particular you'd want me to bring?" I tease.
"I have a few ideas," She says with a smile.
"I'll ask her," I assure her. "Though I'm not sure she'll be game,"
"Well just extend the invitation, your father and I are looking forward to meeting her." She tells me. "Besides, we're in Chicago this year, so she won't have to travel,"
"It's not that I'm worried about," I respond.
"Oh come on," She whines, "We're not that bad,"
"Oh relax," I tell her, "That's not it either, I just don't want to scare her. The entire world is going to be watching, she's a little camera shy,"
"Well it's not like she'll be on the stage," She adds. "She'll be in the box with Natalie, no cameras,"
"I know, but still," I say.
"Just ask," She responds, "You got nothing to lose,"
"Madam President?" I hear as Megan peeks in the door. "They're ready for you,"
"That's my cue," She says, grabbing her blazer off the side of the couch.
"Good luck Ma," I tell her with a smile as she heads out.
"Thanks bud,"
"Funny hearing from you," I hear on the other end of the line. "How was the gala?"
"Good, it was nice, you know getting to spend a day with my sister," I tell her. "How'd everything go with Tate?"
"Oh amazing," She tells me, as I can almost see the smile spreading across her face. "I got home from dinner with them a couple hours ago and it's still early, but I think that it's going to be a really good fit."
"That's great Erin," I tell her, excited for her first success.
"Oh and congrats to your moms, I've been watching the news," She replies.
"Yeah, we're excited around here," I say with a smile. "She's actually talking to the press right now,"
"I know," She says with a laugh, "I'm watching,"
"Well speaking of that I guess," I say nervously, "I'm allowed to bring a guest with me to the DNC, well the last day anyways. You don't want to have to sit through the first two days, they're pretty boring. All the action happens on day three. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be interested. It's in Chicago this year, United Center, so you wouldn't have to travel, but I'd really like to have you there,"
"Oh wow,"
"It's okay, you don't need to come," I quickly cover.
"That's not what I said," She corrects. "I just, have a few questions."
"Shoot babe," I reply.
"I wouldn't have to be on stage right?" She asks nervously.
"No," I say with a chuckle, "It's just my parents and my siblings, you'd be up in the sky box with Natalie, Owen, Graham, Emerson and whoever else is up there,"
"No cameras?" She asks.
"Minimal cameras," I assure her, "They'll be a couple, but it won't be out of control."
"And I'll be meeting your family?" She asks me.
"Yes, they'll all be there," I assure her. "But they'll play nice, my mom has been dying to meet you."
"Seriously?" She replies with a laugh. "The President of the United States want to meet me?"
"My mom," I correct. "It's been a while since I've even mentioned bringing a girl home, she's thrilled,"
"I'd love to," She tells me, taking a huge weight off my chest. "Gotta bite the bullet at some point right?"
"Oh come on," I retort. "It won't be that bad,"
"Kidding," She assures me with a laugh. "I'll be there,"
ERIN
"I still can't believe that this is your life," Hailey says from her place perched on the edge of my bed. "You're Jay Halstead's date to the DNC, to see his mom accept the nomination for President of the United States,"
"You don't need to remind me babe," I say nervously as I apply one of my favorite nude lipsticks, my hair done in soft curls and falling just to my shoulders.
"Relax, you're going to be fine," She says, popping on the ledge. "But you nervous?"
"Is it that obvious?" I ask, turning my head to face her.
"No," She says with a smile, "But I know you Erin Lindsay. I can read you like a book,"
"Good," I say with a smile. "Are we sure about the dress? The green is a little bold,"
"Relax!" She exclaims again as she grabs the dress from its resting spot across my bed. "It's beautiful, and it'll make your eyes pop."
"I know," I say, pondering the decision in my mind again. "But his sisters are wearing pastels and I don't want to stick ou-"
"Stop," She says, cutting me off and placing her hand on my shoulder. "You will stand out and that it not a bad thing. You're not a Halstead sister, you don't have to be. You're going to look amazing and everything is going to be fine. Now shut up and put your dress on,"
"Okay," I say, a newfound sense of confidence as I take the material from her and close the bathroom door behind me, dropping my flannel and cropped leggings to the floor before stepping into the emerald green frock. It really is gorgeous. It took me a long time to pick it out, trying hard to find something conservative enough that I wouldn't piss off half the party, but I didn't want to age myself, seem frumpy. I'd like to think that I succeeded. "Zip me up?" I ask as I step out of the bathroom.
"Of course," Hailey responds before dragging the gold zipper up my back. "You look amazing,"
"I know," I say with a cheeky smile as she grins at me. "Thanks,"
"Anytime girly," She responds. "I'm really proud of you,"
"What for landing a Halstead?" I joke as I slip into a pair of black pumps.
"No," She responds with a eye roll, "Just for making it. You've come a long way Erin Lindsay,"
"Thanks Hails," I tell her, pulling her into a hug as I hear the doorbell ring.
"There's your ride," She says.
"I'll see you when I get home tonight," I tell her.
"I'll be waiting to hear all about it," She tells me with a smile. "I'll walk you out, c'mon,"
"Hi Kevin," I say with a smile as I open the door, glad that Jay had the sense to send him, knowing that he's my favorite,
"Hello Ms. Lindsay," He says with that grin of his. "Ready to go?"
"Yes, just one second, I have to grab my clutch," I tell him, leaving him alone with Hailey.
"Hi I'm Hailey," I hear her say, probably in an attempt to fill the awkward silence.
"Kevin Atwater," He tells her. "Pleased to meet you ma'am,"
"You as well," She responds as I return.
"Got it," I say, holding it up.
"Let's go then," He replies, "Good day Hailey," She doesn't do anything but smile as we walk out the door.
JAY
"You nervous big brother?" My little sister Maddie asks me as people file in and out of the dressing room we've inhabited at the United Center, Dawson and Roman standing guard by the door.
"For what?" I ask her, "Mom's the one getting nominated and Abby's giving the speech,"
"Erin," She says with a very 17 year old eye roll, acting like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why would I be nervous about that?" I ask her.
"Well we're us and today is today, and you also haven't let us a meet a girlfriend since Ally, and Zoe I guess,"
"One, Zoe and I were never a thing and two, please don't say anything about Ally." I tell her. I don't want to say I forgot about that, but I did. And now I am nervous.
"You haven't told her?" She says, her eyes wide. "I thought you said you loved this girl!?"
"So?" I respond. "That doesn't mean I have to tell her about every girlfriend I've ever had,"
"Well no, that would take six thousand years, but Ally's different. You know that, we all know that,"
"I know that Mads and I'll tell her, just not tonight,"
"You better hope she doesn't say anything," Maddie responds snarkily.
"She won't, Ally's not that petty," I say, hoping that my words are true. "Just be good okay?"
"Best behaviour," She teases.
"Jay," Antonio says from the corner, "Ms. Lindsay's on her way up,"
"Thanks," I tell him, my heart beating faster at the idea of Erin and Maddie meeting, let alone the rest of them.
"Oh they're going to be so mad I met her first," Maddie says with a smirk that is oh so very Halstead.
"Sorry to burst your bubble little sis," Abby says as she walks into the room, a happily babbling Emerson on her hip and Graham trailing behind her."But I'm about two months ahead of you,"
"You've got to be kidding me," She exclaims as she flops back onto the couch. "Still ahead of Nora and Will though right? And more importantly Mom and Dad?" She asks.
"Yes," I tell her with a laugh, "you are still ahead of them,"
"Good good," She says with a grin, "I can refrain from killing you now,"
"Oh I'm so glad," I say with a fake sigh of relief, before a smile spreads across my face as I see Erin start to appear in the doorway in a beautiful green dress, her hands clasped awkwardly in front of her. Her nervousness somehow makes me feel just a little bit better about mine.
"Hi," She says shyly as she takes in all of us.
"Hey babe," I say, quickly making my way off the couch and pulling her in for a quick hug, making sure not to do anything the Maddie could possibly call us out about.
"Erin this is my little sister Madeleine," I say introducing the two.
"It's Maddie," She says as she gets up to shake her hand. "And it's very nice to meet you, he's been hiding you away like a dog with his favorite bone," I meet her words with a quick glare.
"Well I'm promise I'm nothing special," Erin replies with a sheepish giggle.
"I'd beg to differ," I say, pulling her into my side and pressing a kiss to the side of her head.
"You're sweet," She says, squirming out of my grasp.
"Nice to see you again," Abby calls over from the other side of the room.
"You too Abby," She says with a smile.
"We've got to go do something," I say, taking her hand in mine. "But we'll be right back,"
"Bye baby brother," Abby calls as we walk out of the room, tailed by Atwater.
"Where are we going?" She asks me, a smile across my face as we walk down the concrete back halls of the stadium.
"To meet my parents," I tell her, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Damn it Jay, you're not going to give me any warning here!" She exclaims, whacking me on the arm a few times.
"More time to freak out?" I tell her, "Hell no. You're going to be fine, just be you,"
"What do I even call them?" She asks me frantically. "Mr. Halstead and Madam President?"
"Juliette and Patrick would be good," I tell her with a laugh, her panic almost comically after I've seen it so many times.
"Oh my God, you're killing me here," She complains.
"Just relax," I say, running my hands over her shoulders as we stop outside a door. "It'll be quick, don't worry,"
"Is she cleared?" One of the agents, Toby Grant I believe asks me.
"She's Firefly," I quickly tell him as he waves us through.
"What?" She asks me. "What's Firefly?"
"Don't worry about it," I say, a smile on my face as my parents come into view. "I'll tell you all about it later,"
"Jay!" My mom exclaims as she runs over to me, pulling me into a hug, wearing a snow white dress and her red hair pulled into some kind of twist at the back of her head.
"Hey Ma," I say as I return the embrace.
"And you must be Erin," She says, quickly moving on from me to pull Erin into a hug. I almost have to laugh as I see Erin's eyes go wide as saucers. She most definitely was not expecting that.
"Yes," Erin responds, more than uncomfortable in the circumstances.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," She says, pulling back and looking at her with the biggest smile in the world.
"You too," Erin responds, as her voice trails off, still not knowing what to say to her.
"Please call me Juliette," She says, her voice happy as a songbird.
"I'm Patrick, Jay's dad," My father says, seeming much less enthused than my mother.
"Nice to meet you," Erin says. I can tell her heart is beating a million miles a minute and I'm surprised she's able to formulate a coherent sentence.
"Madam President?" Blake says as he pokes his head in the doorway.
"Yes Blake?"
"They need you,"
"Okay I'll be there in just a second," She tells him kindly. "Sorry, looks like we're going to have to cut this short, but I'll see you guys later?"
"Oh course," Jay says with a smile.
"Okay bye baby," Mom says, giving me a quick hug and rushing out the door, with Blake and my father at her side.
"Oh my God that just happened," Erin says collapsing on the couch in a heap. "I just met the President of the United States,"
"Trust me, that'll wear off." I tell her with a laugh as I flop down next to her. "Proud of you for keeping it together though,"
"Oh yes I see the bar is very high," She says with a laugh as my arm wraps around her shoulder.
"But you made it," I tell her. "You jumped the hurdle,"
"And yet I'm still not any less nervous,"
ERIN
"You going to be okay up here?" Jay asks as he drops me off in the viewing box.
"It's a private viewing box with a full waitstaff and a Secret Service detail," I say with a laugh. "I think I'll be okay,"
"Alright," He responds, still seeming unsure. "Text me if you need anything,"
"Don't worry about me," I assure him. "Go see your family, I'll be waiting right here when it's all done."
"I love you," He says, pressing a kiss to the side of my head, "Have fun,"
"I will," I say, smiling after him as he walks back down the hall. I nervously take a seat in one of the chairs by the glass overlooking the stadium, currently being the only person in the room. I still have to pinch myself every once in a while. I never wanted a fairytale, I just wanted to survive. But this is more than I ever could have asked for. Not just everything that came with it, but being loved, genuinely loved.
"So I heard you're the newest member of the club," I hear, turning my head to see Natalie, Jay's brother's fiancee sit down next to me.
"I'm sorry?" I ask, confused by her question.
"The Halstead Wives, it's an elite club. Really just you and me," She jokes.
"I am a long ways away from being anyone's wife," I say with a laugh.
"Well, still," She responds with a smile, "I know what you're going through,"
"That's a relief," I say with a grin. "This is all kind of insane,"
"I know the feeling," She replies, "I joined the team around the last election, so I get the crazy."
"I'm Erin," I say as I take a sip of the drink in my hand.
"Natalie," She offers. "I just wanted to come over and say hi. So hi,"
"It's very nice to meet you," I say, feeling more than a little overwhelmed, both with all the introductions combined with feeling like the odd one out. It's a lot. "I feel like I've said that a hundred times today,"
"Yeah that's the one thing that's not going to change," She says, with a kind smile. "I've got a feeling that you're going to be around for a while, so get used to the hand shaking and smiling."
"How could you say that?" I ask lightly. "You barely know me,"
"But I know Jay," She responds. "I was with him that night, after he left your apartment. I've known that boy a long time and I can't remember the last time I saw him that upset about a girl. You're something special,"
"I guess I owe you my gratitude then," I say, giving her a small smile. "You're the reason why he came back the next morning,"
"Oh no," She says, "That was all you."
"Mama it's starting!" A little boy exclaims as he runs over and plops himself on Natalie's lap, one who I can only assume is her son Owen.
"Owen can you say hi?" Natalie asks as she positions him towards me. "This is Uncle Jay's girlfriend Erin,"
"Hi Erin!" He exclaims quickly before turning his attention back to the bright lights of the stage.
"Hi Owen," I say with a smile, surprised at his abrupt greeting before turning my full attention to the stage.
"Who's that?" I ask as a woman walks onto the stage who I don't recognize, her name Evelyn Bass lighting up across the screens behind her.
"Juliette's best friend, they've known each other since they were like six years old," She tells me as Owen settles into the space between us. "But this is just the start, settle in, it's going to be a long day."
"Owen wake up," Natalie urges as the stage preps for Abby's arrival, ready to introduce Juliette onto the brightest stage tonight. "It's Aunt Abby's turn,"
"What?" He says as he shakes himself awake. Unlike him, I've been captivated for the last six hours, watching with my eyes wide open as democracy unfolded in front of me. Speaker after speaker took the stage, each one's words ringing truer than the next. I couldn't look away. It took me half an hour to convince myself that I wasn't going to miss anything if I've ran to the bathroom. But after all of this, it's time.
"Ladies and gentlemen," I hear over the loudspeakers, "Please welcome, the First Daughter of the United States, Abigail Halstead," The stadium erupts in applause, the country's love for the girl in the yellow dress with the red hair clear as day.
"Thank you, thank you!" She calls over the crowd, her voice filling the space. "It is such an honor for me to be here tonight. Four years ago, history was made by the woman who I am lucky enough to call my mom and my daughter Emerson's grandmother. Her name was the one on ballot, but it was all of you who made it happen. We cracked that hardest and highest glass ceiling, and this November, I say we do it again."
"Ladies and gentlemen," Abby says at the end of her speech, a smile full of pride and tears lining the rims of her eyes, myself not faring much better after her tearjerker of a speech. "My mom, my hero, and our President, Juliette Halstead!"
I had to bite down on my lips to hold back the tears as I watched her walk out onto that stage, struggling to believe that I was in her arms just a few short hours ago as the applause starts. And it doesn't stop as the crowd begins to chant her name, a smile as big as the world spreading across her face.
"Thank you." She says, her presence filling the room as she steps into the mic. "To my family," She says, peering down at her five kids and her husband in front row, "thank you for your love and your support. To the rest of you, I say the same. You were the ones that got us here four years ago and you are the ones that kept me here tonight. Four year ago, I stood up here as your Secretary of State, telling you all about my hopes and dreams for the country, my vision of progress and my immense sense of hope. And today, I come here to all of you with the same message and the same drive that I stood here with four years ago,"
"America is great because America is good." Juliette says passionately, allowing the world to see her heart. "And with that, and great pride and gratitude, I accept your nomination for President of the United States. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America!" I feel my lips curve into a smile as the crowd falls into cheer louder than anything I've ever heard, balloons and confetti falling from the ceiling of the stadium, her name plastered on every sign in sight. I feel the tears start to roll down my face as my heart swells with happiness, seeing Jay walk up the stage with his family, a smile as big as the world on his face as he waves at the adoring public, Natalie clutching my hand as her own tears begin to roll.
But then time stops. I don't hear it, but then I see it. Jay lying on that stage, blood flowing out of his chest and his mother shrieking over him.
