Scandal 10

Schooling his face into the dirtiest, angriest scowl he had ever worn, Andrew Taylor pointed it directly towards the assembled media. The media and the tabloids had written some disturbing, vile articles before, but attacking someone's sexuality and outing them on national television, was beyond low. Stepping up to the podium, he schooled his façade and reined in his anger slightly. He couldn't afford to lose control of his temper and his anger, but he knew in his bones, someone would pay for this.

"As the president, I stand before you, to remind you all that, being forced out of the closet and into the open is traumatic for anyone. Let alone when the media broadcasts your private thoughts and correspondences with your partner, for the world to read and judge you on. Perhaps this country needs a reminder. Same sex relationships are not a crime in this country. Most everywhere, they can even legally marry now. Love is love; gender is irrelevant. Discrimination against LGBTIQA people is against our anti-discrimination laws and will be prosecuted to the fullest strength of the law. There is place for that kind of behaviour in today's society.

Senator Nathan Taylor had the right to come out on his own terms and in his own time. He also had the right not to come out at all. The choice was his and his alone to make. I applaud Senator Taylor for his bravery in coming out. I also want to remind you all, the outing of a person, any person. It doesn't matter their sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender. An outing of anyone, whether it be a public figure, celebrity, politician or a private citizen is unacceptable.

Switching gears now, I stand before you as a father, not as the President of the United States. What happened to my son, Nathan Taylor, at the hands of the media, especially Channel Four and their reporter Richard Wyatt, is reprehensible. I am calling out the immoral behavior of the mainstream media. Do not mistake this with an attack on the freedom of press, or the constitutional right to free speech. I am all for free speech and the right to partake in free speech. What I am not okay with, is the outing of a person, any person. It doesn't matter their sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender. An outing of anyone, whether it be a public figure, celebrity, politician or a private citizen is unacceptable. What has happened to my son, Senator Nathan Taylor and his boyfriend is despicable and unacceptable.

As Senator Taylor said in his own words just a short moment ago, 'The truth is every queer person has the right to come out on their own terms, and on their own timeline. They also have the right to choose not to come out at all. The forced conformity of the closet can not be answered with the forced conformity in coming out of it.'

What was taken from them today cannot be replaced. As a father, and on behalf of my wife May and my daughter Jessica, as well as our extended families, we fully support Nathan and his decision to choose to love whomever he pleases. We support his decision to come out on record. On behalf of Nathan, his boyfriend and our respective families, we request privacy as we support our beloved family members through the emotional trauma and the toll this has taken upon them, and help them navigate the new world they suddenly find themselves in, as they begin to heal from this ordeal.

Any and all questions should be directed to the White House Press Team, on behalf of the White House and Senator Nathan Taylor's office; we appreciate your time and efforts today."

"It was good. He did alright." Mark said to Tim and Gibbs, as they stood watching the live press conference from the living room of their secluded seaside house just outside of Sandy Point State Park, overlooking the water in Maryland. "The quote seemed awfully familiar though. I recall it being said a bit more passionately and with a bit of anger behind it, last time." Mark pondered out loud with a chuckle and saw a small, dry smile grace Tim's face.

"He's a thief. He has a habit of stealing my best lines and using them to his own advantage." Tim muttered with a smirk towards Mark, the Secret Service Agent. He turned to Gibbs to gauge his reaction too.

"I take it those words were actually yours." Gibbs stated softly, having easily overheard his agent and the Secret Service Agent speak. Plus, Tim's smirk, had made him one hundred percent certain.

"A couple of days after his grandfather passed away." Tim confided in Gibbs. Mark already knew about the fight; he and Phil had been in the room and witnessed the whole argument ensue. "Said in anger, during one of the worst fights of our relationship. Harsh words were exchanged, and tempers ran high."

It had only taken ninety minutes for Gibbs to grab what he needed and stow his bag, get Tim to Silver Spring, get his gear packed. They let Mark grab his gear and get to Sandy Point. Traffic had been light on the way out there, with what little traffic there was, the traffic was headed into the city. They had left before the weekend commute home. While Tim had been packing his bag, Tim had printed a second set of the emails and clipped them together with a giant bulldog clip to keep all of the pages in order. Vance and SecNav had commandeered the copy of the emails that Kyle had brought with him to Gibbs' house that afternoon. Conversation on the drive up there was minimal, Tim kept his eyes on his cell phone, waiting for the news alert of the press conference and Gibbs kept his eyes on their surrounds while Mark drove. Mark had driven there hundreds of times and knew his way, by heart.

Together, Nate and Tim, they owned a small place, just outside the state park, so close that they shared a fence line with the state park. The property that contained the house and land was only a small ten-acre block with a beach frontage. There was a ten-foot-tall fence and gate that protected the property from trespassers but didn't obstruct the view of the water from the deck and top floor of the house. The back and left-hand side of the block locked on to the state forest. That had been easily combatable against trespassers with massive 'Private Property', CCTV and motion detectors. The small seaside hideaway was no bigger than a couple of bungalows spread across a tri-level property. The bottom level being for a three car a garage and storage, which is not fully enclosed. The house is support on concrete stilts and is open to allow a king tide or storm surge to come in and drain back out. On the half level, there is four rooms, one is the security control room, and the other is a large bedroom with two queen beds in it. Between the two rooms is a small bathroom and powder room and a utility room/mud room with laundry facilities and a basic kitchen. The top floor consisted of three bedrooms and a master bedroom with ensuite, a full bathroom, kitchen, living and dining room with an outdoor alfresco area on a decked-out balcony, kitchen server window and automatic weather sensing louvre roof. All of the windows were fitted with bullet-proof glass, have electric and manual roller shutters. The house is fully automated with a surround sound, alarm and security system, as well as huge entertainment centre. On the furthest point of the deck is a hammock built for two, underneath a huge cantilever umbrella and some waterproof cushions.

Gibbs breathed in the view, as the roller shutters make their way up and Tim threw open the folding doors to allow the breeze and sunlight into the house, as soon as they arrived. "I can see why you fell in love with this place, it's beautiful." Gibbs had told him.

An alert on Tim's phone had chimed and Tim had quickly checked it before rushing for the remote control and quickly turning the large, flat screen television on that was mounted to the wall and turning on the correct channel.

A yawn escaped Mark's mouth; it had been a long day for him. He had been on duty for more than eighteen hours now. "Mark, go get some sleep." Tim had told him. "Gibbs is here and I am sure you don't need to watch us read some more of the emails. You've already had a front seat view to a lot of the bullshit that's in them."

"If you're sure ... " He let his sentence run off. What Tim said had been true. He and Phil had watched the two men develop their relationship. They had witnessed it constant grow and change, as they grew and matured with it. "Phil said he will let us know when you and Nathan can freely communicate again. They are positive that it the emails were hacked at his end. Not yours."

"Thank you, Mark." Tim smiled at him, dismissing the secret service agent.

"I guess, we can turn in too, unless you want to help me make some headway in those emails." Gibbs offered, seeing that Tim was still keyed up and wide awake. It was just after midnight now and Tim'd set his phone to vibrate because now Nate was trending on all the news sites, as well as social media.

"Let's make some coffee first. We are going to need it." Tim smiled as he began making a po of coffee, stronger than he usually made in this house. Usually when he was here, he didn't make full strength coffee because he always slept better when he was here. Usually when he was here, Nathan would be here too and the two of them would sleep soundly, side by side. But tonight, Nate wasn't here, and Tim knew he would barely sleep, so a strong coffee sounded good right now.

Once the two men were settled in with their coffee. Gibbs opened the copy of the emails to where they had last left off and began reading out loud.

" ... 'Those sweet lips. My, oh my, I could kiss those lips all night long. Good things come to those who wait.' ― Jess C. Scott

You know when you have those days when you wished you had never reared your head from your bed? Well, I knew today was going to be a shit show before I woke up. I miss you. I know part of your job means you will be away. As does my job. But really? First, I was away, and when I returned, you had already left. I left had again, before you returned. Now I have returned, I find myself lonely, longing for you, and sad that I have missed you yet again. It has been months, literally. Almost three months since we last spent night together.

We've been sneaking around, like lovesick fools in between. Stealing a moment here, or a kiss there. Last week, you had Phil chase me down in your town car, flag me, pull me over. You kissed me senseless and went about again on your merry way. You've done nothing but provoke me for months. Turnabout is now fair play.

... 'Say 'provoking' again. Your mouth looks provocative when you do.' ― Becca Fitzpatrick.

Have I told you how when we're apart, your body comes back to haunt me in my dreams? I can feel your skin on mine, and it makes every bone in my body ache. Our love is indomitable. Throughout history and throughout fiction, there isn't another like it and it's going to change the world. I know we're both scared because this is bigger than a princess falling in love with a movie star, a girl falling in love with a boy. It's about men. You are a man, and you have fallen in love me, another man. I know you think you don't deserve to have a voice. But you do. It is I, that does not have a voice. But one day, I will. Please be patient with me, and I will try to be brave for us."

Gibbs smiled at Tim. He thought that he had done an impressive job of not blushing or stammering over the more intimate parts of the correspondence.

"That was in '04, when we worked, was all those cases on board the Borealis with Stan Burley and Martin Foley. It was a tough time for us." Tim explained to Gibbs. "Nate was on a summit tour, working on the Climate change forums in Tokyo, Geneva, Berlin and Paris. We either, missed one another by a matter of hours, or only had twenty minutes to spare between one of us leaving again."

"Dad was sick with influenza at that time, too." Gibbs admitted. "It was hard for me, as well, to always be away."

Tim took the emails from Gibbs' hand and read the next one out loud.

" ... 'Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it.' ― Richard P. Feynman

I am out here, travelling the world, in the name of good, giving it my all for my country. I can't have smut filling my inbox, corrupting my mind and bulging my pants like this. Look, buddy, you know I am incorrigible, so don't 'incorrige' me.

On a more serious note, please, I beg of you. Please take some leave. The week of the twenty-seventh, through to the fourth. I have some leave planned too and I plan to do some very bad things to you ...'

Yeah, we don't need to read the rest of that one." Tim blushed, stating in a sing-song voice, as he turned the page, before putting his head in his hands as he recalled what had happened on that leave.

As soon as the door was his apartment door in Silver Spring was closed, Nate was on him. Placing wet kisses all over him. His lips, his cheeks, his eyes, his neck. His hands were roaming Tim's body. They were refamiliarizing themselves with him. Tim's hands were just as eager. A knock at the door had interrupted them, before Mark's voice reminded them that they needed to get on the road.

Arriving at their secluded beach house, tucked away from the rest of the world, the two men spent a week behind closed doors. Reclaiming their sleep, making love, sharing their intimate thoughts, reconnecting and recharging their batteries. Mark and Phil had not ventured onto the top floor of the home in the entire seven days, not once. Whent they returned to DC, they were relaxed and calm. Ready yo take on the world again.