Will's thoughts on events in season 6

Sorry it has been so long. Summer arrived here with so much social activity and I haven't had a weekend to myself since June. I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel and will update all my fics within the next couple of weeks

This particular one is dedicated to Timeafanx because it was her birthday a few weeks ago and I said I would not write Stevie for her but would she enjoy Will.

With love to V and to all my readers - please review. Ask for one shots you would like to see - pairings etc. Will do my best to do all characters in this particular series of one shots.

It's No Rules Saturday

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It's hard to watch my sister get treated like this. It might not seem like it because I am such an eccentric curmudgeon but I love and respect Elizabeth more than I can say and the way she's being pursued by these senators and congressmen is infuriating.

I can tell that it's worrying Henry and the kids too. Just how much trouble can these guys cause? Can they truly impeach and convict and remove her?

My God do they hate her because she's a woman or because she's her.

I know she can be hard to measure up to- she's smart and fierce and brilliant and very charismatic. Some of that she was just born with. She's got a gorgeous face, pretty eyes and a take charge body. She's tall but slight. Feminine but not little girly. She's got a husky edge to her voice and she's not blemished or scarred. Thick shiny blonde hair completes the look, and she has a warm infectious smile. She's also got this incredible range of facial expressions. She's just got that "it" factor.

What should she do - ask to be boiled in oil? Good genes happen - in fact when she was about 12 our family was approached and they asked her to model.

My parents said yes but they were firm. No one was to think she was a grown woman selling skin tight jeans.

She did some sweaters and outerwear for Sears and made a little money that our parents invested for her college fund.

I felt a little slighted that they didn't want me but I honestly didn't care too much. I was that typical kid brother. If she got one I thought I should get one too. Our parents were pretty fair about most things and Lizzie told me that while it was fun- the sweaters were itchy, the makeup felt weird and the waiting around for perfect light was annoying. She also promised to help me make money for my college fund and she was so nice about the whole thing I couldn't hate her.

We quarrelled and disagreed and I was an exasperating little guy but deep down we loved one another.

I borrowed her albums without asking. I left my stinky socks in the bathroom we shared. I said embarrassing things when her friends came over and the first boy she brought home - I was a pest. Poor Jamie and Elizabeth. She wanted to kill me that night. Just as Jamie was about to kiss her on our front porch I interrupted and announced it. The typical bratty brother mentioned in all the novels and movies - that was me.

I can't believe she didn't drown me in the pond the next day - and that alone should qualify her to be President of this country. Patience of a saint doesn't begin to describe her when she's compartmentalizing.

No she isn't perfect. Show me a human who is. This woman is strong and patriotic and very service minded. She has always been brave - when she broke her ankle falling off of one of the horses she didn't cry. She went to the school dance on crutches and watched while Jamie danced with Melinda and kissed her because she had bigger boobs and was willing to let Jamie cheat off of her french test.

I watched my sister suck back the tears and humiliation of being dumped right there in the gym and when I wanted to go punch his lights out she asked me not to.

Her pretty red dress with the white polka dots hung in her closet for a long time afterwards. She recovered from the broken ankle and my mom took her for a pedicure and by august there was a new crush named Christopher who was a year older.

Oh this scotch has muddled my thoughts a little but I am protective of her. She was always there for me as we grew up. Mostly when I didn't deserve it. She stood up for me against the school bully and got pounded for her trouble. I remember my conscience bothering me that she had ripped her shirt and had a black eye and it was all my fault.

She told me that as the big sister she was allowed to rip me a new one but that she would always have my back in the world.

I went to bed that night with a lot on my mind. Awed, loved, angry that a girl had fought for me, scared of what would happen if she didn't stand up for me and embarrassed that she had to.

So when I got a chance to protect her from the news that our mother didn't die instantly - I thought that would help. I was a mixed up newly minted 13 year old and I wanted to be brave and noble and take care of her. Flash forward 35 years and I delivered that news in a devastating way in her living room - because I was angry with her. She was spoiling for an argument and I let her bossy boots get to me.

Yes. Elizabeth Adams McCord can be a bossy boots. She is tough to please, and she expects you to do your best and her radar always knows when you haven't. Worse than Santa she is. Knows when you are sleeping and if you are bad or good.

She has hope. If you are bad she fully expects you to shape up and do the right thing.

So to watch these jerks steal some of that hope from her - it's wrong.

She has done so much already and I am really proud of her. I know my parents would be. We all thought she would be a teacher, or a horse farmer. She did both and upped the ante

She found her soulmate. She and Henry make that marriage work when it shouldn't. He left for war not long after they got together. Was gone for a long time. She worked in Intelligence and was gone for a long time and at risk.

But they have three amazing kids and they are rainbows and unicorns. They inspired me and Sophie. We took forever to get married. It was quick and right before we had Annie. Then we separated right around the time Lizzie announced her presidential bid. I even toyed with dating younger women.

She and Henry kept their flame alive through a year and a half of her being on the road. Adult kids. No reason to keep that marriage going at all. But they did.

So I called Sophie and asked her to go to counselling with me and we are rebuilding our marriage. Annie is thrilled. I want this to work. We were separated for a year and we have work to do. Elizabeth recently told me she was proud of me though and it meant the world to me. She keeps up with her niece and Annie just adores her. My daughter was very small when Elizabeth became Secretary of State and so now that she's older and doing research on her favourite world leader -it's reminded me of the worries we all had. Christ that situation in Iran - my sister was almost killed and these bastards say she's in bed with the Iranians. All she wants is peace and she's loyal to the progressives in the Middle East because she knows these people. She speaks Arabic because she had Yusif the crown Prince for a friend and I picked it up working in Syria. We both have stories about things we have seen and done that would have our parents worry. We talked about that once. There was a bottle of rum involved and some amazing deli.

But apparently white religious right sees that as treasonous. These guys would crucify her if they could and I am not wearing rose coloured glasses about that.

She's been stalked, twice if you count that kid from UVA - Ray someone. She wears Kevlar to throw out a baseball. Call it patriarchal but damned it pisses me off that she's in danger as much as she is.

I don't want to bury my sister. Not for another 50 years anyhow.

I should call her. She's tough but we have gotten a lot closer over the last couple of years. This can't be easy for her. These last few months are off the charts insane.

I finally feel like I can make her laugh and take care of her. She has stopped trying to be my surrogate mom and we are getting better at being brother and sister.

I think I will take her fly fishing. That always calms her down and makes her eyes sparkle. Something about being wet, covered in mosquito bites and standing in a river sweating in the sun just relaxes her. The truth is I enjoy it to and the snark we toss at one another is our love code.

Get me on an elevator with this Hanson dude though and I may have to knock out his teeth

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