Hello! FFN has dropped the ball with email alerts again, so for all of you who found your way to this update, congrats. This story is getting to the final push. From what I've got on my plans, we're looking at around 34-36 for the epilogue, it all depends on how much chattering these guys do on their way out. Thank you again for your love and support and I'll catch you when the next chapter is ready.

Chapter 28

The First Couple hit the ground running upon their return from their honeymoon. Isabella went into a full schedule of meetings and Edward refined his work with Jack, taking point on initial meetings.

Edward had spoken to several people about what he wanted to do, but it always came down to the same thing: money was tight. But all that did was infuriate him further. There had been a lot of discussions behind closed doors, but they were just beyond his reach as a First Gentleman. So Edward did something that could ruffle some feathers.

"Edward, I'm sorry. I thought we were meeting with President Swan-Masen," Peter Erics, the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, said. He peered around the First Gentleman, but General Whitlock nudged his shoulder.

"Peter, it's obvious that Mr. Swan-Masen has something important to say, so why don't we hear him out?" General Whitlock seemed far less surprised by his being the one to hold the meeting.

The pair entered the conference room and noted his Chief of Staff, Jack, was seated at the table.

"I apologize for any confusion. It wasn't my intention to mislead anyone, but I want to take a slightly more active role in my position as First Gentleman. It is my intention to aid our veterans and I wanted to speak with you to see how any possible policy is going."

Peter grumbled to himself before speaking. "It is in the very early stages. We don't have enough support from members of the House to sponsor it yet, because they're concerned about public approval. The bill has been drafted, but if we don't have someone to bring it to the House floor, it's a moot point."

"Would you mind if I saw the bill?" Edward asked.

When Peter didn't initially respond, Jasper did. "I'll get the latest copy sent over to you. I'm intrigued. How would you go about offering your assistance?"

"I'm a curiosity right now. One with a decent approval rating of my own, too. I am willing to leverage that and be the poster boy for this bill. I can do the rounds on different political programs and talk shows, and discuss the merits from my own experience. I'd meet with potential backers in the House and do anything else necessary."

Peter narrowed his eyes. "As much as we appreciate the offer, a former federal agent might not be the best person to speak on it."

"He's an army veteran, Peter. Served overseas and suffered a few injuries in his eight years, including the one that led to his honorable discharge because of the recovery time. It was only after he recovered and completed his degree that he joined the Secret Service," Jasper informed his colleague.

"Yes, and now he's left that position, to do what? Call me old-fashioned, but having a House husband as our ally may be the wrong way to go about it."

Edward laughed. "My relationship with the President is why I'm currently out as an active agent at the Secret Service, but I'm still working for the agency. Fitzwilliam wanted my expertise in the field to create different training models and manuals. I'm also able to consult as long as it doesn't directly relate to the safety of my family or the Vice President."

Before Peter could put his foot in his mouth again, Jasper spoke up. "Read over the bill, Edward, then you and I can speak. I look forward to working with you on this."

The pair left, and Edward looked to Jack for his thoughts.

"I told you Erics would resist, but he and the General are good friends, so that'll work in your favor."

"Guess I'll just have to win him over."

~WTFF~

Later that evening, Isabella walked into the Residence to see Edward with a notepad and a ream of paper flagged within an inch of its life as he took notes.

"Was this what you looked like in school? Because if so, I'm sad I wasn't a co-ed who could have begged to borrow your notes."

"You were already working at the Office of Indian Affairs when I was in school. And dating a young Mr. Black if my memory serves."

"True. God, that feels like a lifetime ago." Bella sat beside him and motioned to the paperwork. "Working on something for Fitzwilliam?"

"No, this is the VA bill. I met with General Whitlock and Secretary Erics about it. One of them was less than enthusiastic about my wanting to help."

"Erics is a tough egg to crack. Took him a while to warm up to me, and I was the person who kept him on at his job. He'll see the merit of having another supporter, in time."

"Jasper actually surprised me. He was all too willing to speak with me. The idea of a Colonel being more uppity than a General is not one I'm used to."

"Peter isn't a bad man, but he's caught his share of raw deals, so he isn't as open. The first time I called him out in a Cabinet meeting, he realized I wasn't about to be a lame duck president and he opened up. Just be your normal, detail-driven self and he'll have you on the golf course in no time."

Edward rolled his eyes but went back to work. He stopped for dinner, and hours later, Lance joined him only to curl up on his copy of the bill that he gave up.

A smile crossed his lips as Lance took off to pounce on Donut, who was good-natured about the little terror. They were thick as thieves, and Lance was slowly getting access to the West Wing along with his older brother.

Edward joined his wife in bed, happy to de-stress with her in his favorite way.

A few weeks passed. Edward had made his plans for assisting with the bill and even booked his appearances. His first was on Meet the Press the following morning, then Edward would fly up to New York to film appearances on quite a few daytime and late-night talk shows. It was his first solo trip, and he was a bit nervous about it.

Edward was about to head upstairs when Teeny stopped him. "Geoff collected your bag and moved it to your office so you're ready in the morning. You'll head to New York straight from the taping so you can settle in before your appearances."

"Thanks, Teeny. Geoff is still settling into his role, and you've been a big help in that."

"He'll get better once he loosens up a bit. Good night, Edward."

Edward arrived expecting dinner, but instead found Bella sitting at the table with her meal pushed away and her head in her hands.

"Bella, are you okay?"

"Yes. It's just been a long day."

"Well, why don't we eat? Then we can have an early night. I have to be up early for my appearance tomorrow."

"That sounds lovely."

They enjoyed a tasty meal, but before Edward could move, Bella placed a small gift bag in front of him.

"What's this?" Edward asked, puzzled.

"A little something in honor of tomorrow."

"My first solo interview for the bill?"

"No, just open it."

Edward removed the paper to reveal a grainy image that was all too recognizable. "Bella, what is this?"

"I was feeling light-headed earlier, and Alice convinced me to see the doctor. It seems our children wanted you to be aware of their existence before you left. Tomorrow is Father's Day after all."

"Children?" Edward gaped.

Bella pointed to two separate spots on the ultrasound. "Baby A and Baby B. Both have strong heartbeats. Everything seems great with them and me. I was prescribed prenatal vitamins and I'll have regular checkups, but other than that, I'm all good."

Edward pulled Bella into his arms, holding her close. "Bella, my God. I can't believe this has happened for us so quickly. I'm so happy. And now I hate that I'm leaving you for a few days."

"No, you need to do this work. And I've got a hundred people watching my every move. I will be fine until you're home."

Edward offered Bella his hand, "Why don't we go relax? Because I have a mama to take care of."

The next morning, Edward's appearance on Meet the Press was a huge success. It became the talk of every social media platform while he traveled to New York.

Edward settled into his hotel room and called Bella to check on her before having one more discussion of his talking points over dinner. He would be on The Today Show first thing the following morning, and he was looking forward to it.

His appearance on The Today Show went very well, as did his taping of Late Night. But it was his visit to The View that proved the most challenging.

As the conservative on the panel, Laurel Holmes pounced on Edward from the moment he finished his overview of the bill and explained why it was important for the American people to support it.

"Now, don't get me wrong, your story and the photos you're choosing to share all paint a sympathetic story, but a bill of this magnitude requires a large amount of spending that could be more useful to the current defense of our nation. This is something that is better suited for politicians to handle, Mr. Swan-Masen."

Edward knew better than to lose his cool, and if this woman thought she was playing chess while Edward fiddled with checkers, she was mistaken. "Mrs. Holmes, if you were truly concerned with the defense of our nation, a large part of that is taking care of the men and women who return from combat. I received excellent care while overseas in the immediate aftermath of the attack that ended my military career. But once I was medically discharged and it fell on the VA to continue my care, it faltered. The miles of red tape required for our veterans to receive the proper physical care is bad enough, but for those also dealing with the mental strain of returning to civilian life, it only gets worse.

"You sit at this table and talk about the homeless problem, but in the last five years, the percentage of homeless veterans has increased from 10.4 percent to 12.7 percent. Even with the VA finding housing for forty thousand veterans in the last year, we are failing those who came home struggling to deal with realities you will never understand.

"We shouldn't be relying on celebrities and charities to bring awareness and funding to this dire situation. You can't applaud someone singled out at a local sporting event and thank them for their service while you turn a blind eye to the thousands standing beside them.

"You expect the next generation to pick up this mantle when you show them exactly what their sacrifice will mean to you. Empty words don't heal wounds, Laurel."

The panel was speechless once Edward finished his impassioned rebuttal delivered without pause, but the audience was anything but silent, clapping loudly for the First Gentleman.

One of the other hosts recovered enough to thank Edward for his appearance and send the show to commercial.

He knew he'd won over most of the panelists, but Laurel Holmes stayed clear as he left the studio. Edward had the afternoon to unwind in his hotel room before his final appearance on The Late Show with Sean Henry.

The atmosphere at the final stop on his media tour was vastly different, and Sean Henry made a point of visiting Edward in the green room.

"Mr. Swan-Masen, it's been a while."

"Sean, it is great to see you again. It has been a while since the interview announcing our engagement. I have to apologize that we only had a passing moment at the wedding."

Sean shook his head. "Mary was over the moon that you even thought to invite us. And with the volume of people in attendance, it isn't surprising. But from your last few days, I'm sensing this is a much more policy-driven visit."

Edward nodded. "It is, but I'm sure Jack sent over the topics I'm willing to discuss."

"He did. I'm happy to stick by those guidelines. Did my staff get you everything you need? Are your men taken care of? Or do they need access to anything before we let the audience in?"

"No, your staff has been very accommodating. We're ready to wrap up this trip and return home."

Sean smiled. "I'm sure. We'll see you out there, Edward."

It was about forty-five minutes later that Sean welcomed Edward as his first guest.

"Edward, it has been quite a busy few days for you. This is the first time we've seen you take a political stance on anything outside of your support of President Swan-Masen, and while people may understand the basics of your experience with the VA after you served, you haven't had the chance to really get into the specifics. Would you care to expand on that now?"

Edward smiled at the lead-in. "Yes. When I was on what wound up being my last tour overseas, I was badly injured protecting another member of my team who had been injured by an anti-personnel mine. We had an evac on the way but were still taking fire. I shielded my friend with my body and that resulted in us both returning home.

"But after evaluations, we were both medically discharged. In my situation, the amount of time my recovery would have taken and the question of whether I would ever be physically fit enough for duty led to it. Since I was due to either reenlist or begin the process of separation, I chose the latter. I didn't want to make a commitment to the Army if my body couldn't uphold it. So I went through that process and began to work hard to recover and used the GI Bill to get my education."

"And obviously, you were able to get healthy enough to join the Secret Service after college." Sean referenced some photos Edward had brought along of his army days, of him in college, and in his early days in the Secret Service.

"I did, but that was years and a lot of training later. I wasn't done serving my country, and in college I found a new avenue for that. But spending so much time at the VA, I've seen that there are gaps in how our veterans are treated. Yes, there are a lot of charities and celebrities that will get on a bullhorn and speak out on our behalf. But the government should be helping. The wait for housing, medical benefits, and treatment … for some of our returning men and women, this is time they don't have. The war at home is sometimes more dangerous than the warzone we return from."

Sean nodded; a smirk let Edward know where he was going next before he spoke. "And this level of passion for your fellow soldiers is what led to your speech this afternoon."

Some laughter and cheers from the audience showed that there weren't many fans of his sparring partner earlier today.

"It did. There will always be people who will speak out on things they don't truly understand. But the idea that people should answer a call to arms and then be abandoned upon their return is despicable. I was part of the generation that were horrified by 9/11. Even though that was five years before I could defend our country, I enlisted the day after my eighteenth birthday. And I will always strive to better the experience of those who follow in my footsteps in that regard."

"And that is an honorable endeavor. But there have also been some happy moments this year. You and the President got married and spent your honeymoon in Ireland. You even brought a new addition home from that trip, didn't you?"

Edward used all of his training not to react until he saw the photo of Lance sprawled out on a seat on Air Force One on the monitor. "Yes, we met Lance near the end of our trip, and he was immediately taken with Bella. It didn't take much to get him on the plane home and we were lucky that Donut was quick to welcome his younger brother."

"I'm sure that was a relief for you both. And the name change has drawn some attention."

"For us it was a simple decision. We're both only children who are well established in our careers but wanted to honor each other. This was the best option for us." More cheers and applause came from the audience, showing that the people seemed to get what many of their opponents didn't.

"And for a modern couple, it makes sense. Now, I know you're a busy man, so I'd like to thank you as always for coming to visit. Any time you'd like to stop by, you're more than welcome."

Edward took Sean's offered hand and shook it. "Thank you, Sean. It's always wonderful to sit down with you." Edward walked back to the green room feeling accomplished. He'd taken a stand for what he cared about and people were taking notice.

It wasn't long before they were on their way to the helipad. Edward was happy to be flying back to DC, ready to see Bella and fall back into his routine.