A/N: Thank you for all the reviews! It's nice to know I have some readers. We're starting to get to the dive portion of the story, but there's a bunch of flashback and preamble first. Incidentally, I really have been bitten by an eel, and a friend of mine told me about the eel episode before I'd ever watched Madam Secretary.

~~~ Part 5 ~~~

Henry and Elizabeth had the small boat to themselves, or rather, the only other people on the boat were the dive crew. Once aboard, they did a round of introductions: Tony had been working at the dive operation for about ten years and would be Henry's instructor, John had recently moved to Anguilla after working on other dive boats in the Caribbean and would be Elizabeth's divemaster, and Captain Leroy was from Anguilla and had grown up on fishing boats.

Behind and to the sides of their boat they could see the roofs of the village of Sandy Ground, the low-lying hills of Anguilla, and the limestone coast. In front of the boat was the endless blue ocean that stretched to the horizon, interrupted only by a few low-lying islands and cays and other boats.

"Do you know what 'Anguilla' means?" John asked, as they settled in.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at Henry. Of course they knew. It was precisely the sort of obscure fact Henry would have just known because he was a knower of things, and Elizabeth would have figured out from her knowledge of languages, if she hadn't already known it from reading the World Factbook during her downtime at the CIA. And if they hadn't already known before, they certainly would by now, between their pre-trip research and their museum outing.

"Eel," Elizabeth answered matter-of-factly.

"That's right."

"And it wasn't named for any actual eels," Elizabeth added pointedly.

Tony chucked. "No, it's because of the shape of the island."

"Probably," Henry said under his breath, "It might have been named after the racer snakes."

"Which are harmless," Elizabeth muttered quietly enough that only Henry could hear.

"While the island isn't surrounded by eels, we do have a couple of species of eels you might see," Tony continued.

Henry stifled a groan, as Elizabeth instinctively and comfortingly slipped an arm behind him.

"John was bitten by a green moray once, isn't that right?"

"Got the scar on my finger with two sets of jaws to prove it," John said, holding up a finger somewhat proudly.

"Man, you can't even see it unless you squint," Leroy interjected dismissively.

As the crew bantered, Henry didn't know whether to gloat at Elizabeth at the relevancy of the "Eel Guy" video, or to get off the boat while there was still a chance. He settled for looking at the scenery. He silently reminded himself that he'd liked snorkeling, and that, more importantly, he wasn't going to do anything stupid like stick his fingers in holes where eels might live.

Elizabeth cursed their luck to meet someone with an eel injury and willed the crew to shut up about eels. "What other animals do you often see?" she asked to change the subject.

Henry, however, had already tuned out, thinking about how he'd gotten himself into this in the first place...

Elizabeth had knocked at the entrance to his White House office, announcing her arrival. If possible, Henry smiled even more brightly than usual at the sight of her. His whole face lit up. He really was the best welcoming committee. "So?" he asked expectantly. "Did you tell POTUS your plans for tomorrow?"

"I did!" Elizabeth replied, giddy, excited, and still more than a bit nervous. Henry put down his papers as Elizabeth approached, sitting down on the footrest in front of Henry's chair, their knees nearly touching. "I still just... I can't believe it's happening." She felt like she had upended everything, but as her gaze focused on Henry, she felt herself drawn to him as if by magnetic impulse, and knew that no matter what, she still had him and the kids to keep her centered.

"Maybe this will make it a little more real. The post-resignation, pre-presidential-announcement vacation is officially on!" Henry announced.

"You booked it!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She had first floated the idea of getting away - just the two of them - months ago, but the plausible dates kept getting postponed, until they decided to put it off until Elizabeth resigned and would have time. Still, in her line of work - and Henry's too - she was so used to things coming up at the last minute, that she didn't dare let herself believe it would actually happen.

"Anguilla, baby, ten days!" Henry fantasized aloud, "Just you and me sleeping in ..." Elizabeth sighed at the idea of being caught up on sleep for once. "... Reading books, drinking out of coconuts ..."

"Quiet. Scuba diving." Elizabeth added, her eyes sparkling. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had last been diving, certainly not since before she became Secretary of State. It was a hobby she'd picked up very early in their relationship, when she was living on base and itching for something to do to take her mind off the realities of being a military wife. She could still remember the awe she felt on her first dive. The ocean was teeming with life and activity, but it was also so quiet and tranquil. Underwater, she felt small - humanity felt small - but she also felt connected and so alive. "Sure, that too," Henry said with a shrug, bringing her back to the present.

"You're not gonna get certified, are you?" Elizabeth questioned, with a knowing smile.

"Maybe when we're down there," Henry replied noncommittally.

"After all these years," Elizabeth started, her voice growing impassioned, "I cannot believe you will not do this with me." Elizabeth couldn't help but be a smidge disappointed. She and Henry had come to share so many hobbies - heck, they'd even lived on a horse farm! - but no matter how much Elizabeth talked it up, Henry had never tried scuba diving.

"I just don't think that people were meant to breathe underwater," Henry rationalized, taking off his glasses.

"Well, they weren't meant to jump out of planes, either," Elizabeth quipped, "And you've done that plenty of times." She was going to take one last shot at convincing him.

Henry deflected her undeniably valid point with humor, "Counterpoint: the ocean is just one big fish toilet."

Elizabeth inwardly smirked at the imagery, but outwardly shook her head. "Henry," she sighed, taking his hand in hers, "We have been going flat-out for the past four years straight. Next year we'll be campaigning. And then, if we're lucky, we'll be right back in this building for the next four to eight years."

Henry considered her sobering words. Not for a second did he regret being the man beside Elizabeth McCord, and he was so proud watching Elizabeth flourish in her role, but being Secretary of State had impacted their lives even more than he'd anticipated. Running for President, putting the whole family in the spotlight, living in the White House, being President... that would be another level entirely. It was nothing short of monumental.

"We may never know silence again until we're in the grave," she stated dramatically, looking Henry directly in the eye. He flinched slightly under the intensity of her stare. "Please, join me in the profound, serene beauty of the fish toilet," she crooned, adopting his ocean metaphor.

Elizabeth wanted him to do this. How could he resist? "Well, when you put it that way..." Elizabeth broke out in a huge smile. How could he resist her, indeed? He leaned forward and kissed her, and his nervousness about diving drained away.

A few days later, Henry had been exercising on the floor in their bedroom when Elizabeth ambushed him, changing the subject to scuba diving. She spoke softly, but astutely, "My gut is also telling me that you've made no plans to get scuba-certified."

"Not true," Henry protested defensively. "I have been reviewing relevant materials."

"Reviewing relevant materials?" Elizabeth questioned, as her phone rang.

"Yeah, I saw a video of this guy diving over a coral reef," Henry gestured, "And an eel came out and bit him, right on his..."

Elizabeth was on the phone before he could infect her mind with one of the images that had been haunting Henry.

Elizabeth wasn't letting it go though, returning to the topic after her phone call. Tired of beating around the bush, she took the direct approach. "What is your problem with scuba diving?"

There was no sense avoiding the question. She had been a professional interrogator. But even if she weren't, Henry would have told her. He had no need to put on a tough guy act in front of her. "I'm scared," he admitted simply, putting his vulnerability on full display.

He wasn't even sure why he was afraid to go diving. Yes, he'd been scarred by losing his childhood friend Tommy, who had drowned after falling through ice. But Henry had gone swimming many times since; he was a reasonably strong and fast swimmer, and had demonstrated water survival skills in the Marines. Although he'd said that people weren't meant to breathe underwater, the actual breathing underwater part didn't seem insurmountable. He could learn to use the equipment, even to be prepared for any equipment failures and keep his cool in crisis. After all, it couldn't be harder than flying a fighter jet. But something about the combination of being underwater away from land, the scuba gear, and the unpredictability of the situations and animals he might encounter made him uneasy. Watching the eel video definitely didn't help. Nor did the fact that he was now getting "recommended" videos of eels and shark bites.

"Sweetheart, get over it."

Elizabeth's response was harsh on the face of it, but Henry knew it was laced with love. "I'll get ... I will." Henry replied. Maybe some tough love was exactly what he needed.

"Okay. Good." She touched him reassuring, letting him know that she understood this might not be easy for him, but that she would be there to support him, just as he had been there for her when she had finally faced visiting her parents' graves after decades of avoidance.

"I'm gonna get certified before we go on the trip." Henry promised.

"Good. Because you are gonna love it," Elizabeth predicted optimistically, walking away, and putting an end to the conversation.

Henry wasn't so sure about that. He'd settle for surviving it. He couldn't help channeling his inner Jason and getting in a last snarky response, "Yeah, that's what 'Eel Guy' thought too."