Elizabeth groaned, slamming her hand on the obnoxiously shrill alarm going off. Henry swiftly followed her body, keeping her enveloped in his arms. "Henry…" she whispered groggily, "I have to get up." He brought her deeper into his warm embrace, pulling the duvet to their chins.

"Just a few more minutes?"

She reluctantly obliged, snuggling herself comfortably into the side of his frame. "You know this is just going to make it more difficult to get up." He rested a gentle hand on her waist, burying his nose in her hair.

"I can compromise."

"What do you have in mind?" She fought her heavy eyelids, knowing if she allowed them to shut, she would surely be late heading to the office. Sure, her staff would understand after the transpirations of the past week, but that didn't mean she would feel comfortable arriving late.

"Shower?" She smiled into his gleaming eyes, cherishing the last few minutes they would have together before she headed back into the office with the sunrise.


The two dressed in silence, each preparing for the day ahead they would face individually. With any hope, the State Department would remain calm, barring any tumultuous outbreaks to stir the pot that was chaotic global diplomacy.

They headed down the stairs, poured themselves a cup of coffee, and Henry led her to the front door seeing her off.

The drive to the office felt longer than normal, but Elizabeth felt relief wash over her when she saw the outline of the State Department through the dash. As much as she had needed time off to rest and recuperate, she truly did love her job, and she couldn't wait to get back to the seventh floor.

As the elevator doors opened, she was bombarded by the usual: Daisy displaying a tablet, Nadine shuffling files, and Jay catching her up. Before she could even make it to her office, though, it was Blake who stopped her.

"Welcome back, Ma'am." He nodded politely before pulling her out of the main stream of traffic. "You have a meeting in about 10 minutes. It's regarding your trip to Geneva."

"Okay." She stepped into her office, stashing her coat in the closet as she pulled on her blazer and arranged the contents of her briefcase across her desk. "You said 10 minutes, Blake?" He poked his head through the doorway affirming the time. "I'll be right there."


She entered the White House conference room seeing the new director of the CIA, multiple chiefs and generals, and the president at the head of the table. She hesitantly took a seat before speaking broadly across the room "All of you need to speak to me about my flight? Isn't this something Russell can brief me about?"

Some averted their gazes, others looked to the president for confirmation, but none of them dared to be the first to speak. "I'm afraid we have some developments to discuss, Bess." Conrad was the first to boldly jump in to the conversation, granting others the courage to speak.

Director Munsey's successor took this as his cue to reveal the intel that had been gained over the past week. "Madam Secretary," he began to pace. "It seems that both Juliet and Munsey had accomplices we knew very little about. We assumed they were not planning such a large scale takedown of the Iranian government on their own, but we guessed that their coconspirators were placed in Iran."

"So what are you saying?" Elizabeth asked, squinting her eyes in confusion. "There were more of them within the US government?"

"I'm afraid so."

She felt her stomach drop, her eyes rolling shut to avoid the countless stares surrounding her. Fantastic. She released an exhale, forcing her eyes open. "They didn't kill everyone the first time, so they figured they'd try again?" her tone was cold, bitter. She knew it wasn't completely appropriate for the meeting, but finding Juliet's fingerprints lingering hurt her a little more each time.

She was only met with sympathetic glances, looks of pity and despair. "So I'm guessing she got to my pilot before she turned herself in?"

Conrad began to speak again. "Honestly Bess, I'm not sure if you would have made it without the loyalty and protection of your detail."

"Frank said he wasn't supposed to know the plane was going down, but he did. How did gain such privy information?"

This time it was the head of diplomatic security that made his presence known. "It seems that the team had just completed a sweep of the hanger and the plane when the pilot came out for 'pre-flight operations.' The DS agents had retreated, but Frank forgot a spare ear-piece in the hanger." The man shoved his hands into his pockets, pacing the table in front of Elizabeth as he revealed what information they did have. "Frank thought he heard the pilot carrying on a conversation, but as he peered through an open door, he was pacing the floor, arguing with himself. It was only after a moment that he inadvertadly revealed his plan to crash the plane shortly after takeoff. It was then Frank knew he had to act. He entered the room and tried to calm the pilot, reassuring him that it was not the best decision. After a reported 20 minutes, he seemed to have the man talked down. It was only after takeoff, and several hours of flight, that he regained his 'nerve' and reversed the decision Frank had talked him out of. It truly is Frank that saved your life, though."

She nodded, agreeing, but needed to know more. "How so?"

"While your attentions were focused on work, he was able to enter the cockpit and create a compromise of sorts. Frank wouldn't alert authorities while on the plane if he was told exactly what would happen. It was through those exact plans that he was able to formulate the best chances of survival for both you and the DS agents. It was only after he was assured of your safety that he began contacting the authorities."

She felt the knot in her stomach grow as she met the faces across from her, feeling equal parts grateful and completely pissed off. The director picked up on the rise in her emotion. "Ma'am," he pushed. "For a 'hostage' situation, this could have turned out much worse. It could have been fatal for you and your agents."

She gripped the edge of the table, rising from her seat. She walked quickly toward the door before being halted by a chorus of "Ma'am" and "Madam Secretary." She turned on her heel, waiting for someone to speak. "We still need to brief you on motives and consequences."

She continued her pace toward the door while speaking. "I trust your assistants can relay the information to mine?" Before even allowing a response, she swung open the door and padded into the hallway. She felt the air drain from her lungs as she hurried through the hallway and to the motorcade. As she slid into the back seat, she sent a hurried text to Blake.

Home for an early lunch. Shouldn't be too long.


She quickly thanked her on-duty agents before hurrying toward the front door. She stepped into the foyer immediately scanning the open area for Henry.

"Hey babe!" She found his eyes from the office and wasted no time meeting him in stride. "What are you doing home already? Its only…" he glanced at the face of his watch. "11:00."

"Henry, I was right." She said wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I was right." She repeated feeling tears pool behind her eyelids. His arms immediately snaked around her back, holding her close to his chest.

"What were you right about?" he asked softly.

"The plane, Henry. Juliet and Munsey…." She met his eyes, feeling a suffocation come with their lack of contact. "They did it, Henry…" She was barely able to gasp out an accusation before she felt her chest tighten as the light around her husband's head started to dim. "Henr—" Her head began to spin as the weight of the past week, perhaps even the past months had finally ensnared her.

A little bit was revealed in this chapter, but there is certainly more where that came from. Sorry for the gap in updates, werk werk werk werk werk... Thank you so much for your kind reviews, they absolutely make me smile! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!