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There are times when we make history, and there are times when history makes us.This is a crucial moment for our nation, and America's colors burn brightest when we meet challenges head-on.
"Sammy, come on! You're going to be late." April called out, finishing the apple that she was cutting up for his lunch. "I don't know what's with him lately. He used to always be on time." She remarked with a shake of her hand, glancing up at her husband."He's almost a teenager," Jackson shrugged his shoulders. "I was the same way at his age.""Oh, don't say that." She pressed down on the Ziploc, dropping the apples into his lunchbox. "You're supposed to comfort me and tell me it's going to be fine. Today's already a big day.""You are going to be fine," he stepped over toward her, pressing his lips on top of his wife's head and catching a whiff of her shampoo. "Promise. You don't even have to go to the state of the union, remember? It's just going to be the two of us and one big ol' pizza with extra cheese." He beamed."What about me?" Harriet interrupted, bouncing the soft soccer ball in her hands. Jackson had bought it for her two weeks ago and she was obsessed, nearly refusing to go anywhere without it."You, Sammy, and Grandma Catherine are all going to have an awesome tonight together." Her mom answered."Samuel." Their eleven year old son interrupted to announce his presence. "It's Samuel now, Mom.""Oh, you're always going to be my little Sammy." April insisted, arms wrapping around him in a tight hug and pressing her lips against his forehead despite his protest. Her lipstick smudged across his skin and she didn't bother to wipe it away, smiling at him. "But you're going to be my late little Sammy soon. Do you want breakfast?""I'll just grab a smoothie," he shrugged. "I was throwing up."Jackson and April shared a look, the redhead visibly stilling as the guilt hit her for her teasing. This wasn't easy for any of them.When Samuel had first started complaining about aches and pains, both of them had attributed it to just growing pains. Even Jackson, who burdened a little more guilt than his wife, as a talented doctor didn't see it coming. Just because his specialty was plastics and not ortho didn't mean any of the guilt of not seeing the signs sooner had lessened. It had still been caught in the early stages and the outcome looked good so long as it didn't metastasize. They had gotten lucky that they had finally taken him to the doctor to see how things were and not continued to brush it off. But treatment wasn't easy. Not on Samuel physically, not on the rest of them emotionally. They were all still learning how to adjust to the new normal."Yuck." Harriet blurted out, easing the sudden silence."Yeah," Samuel lightened up with a slight chuckle. "Yeah, it was pretty gross. You wanna hear the details?""No!" She screamed.Even if he was going through a lot with the new chemotherapy treatments and deciding that he wanted to stay in school, he hadn't failed to continue to be a wonderful big brother. The age gap between them was seven years and when April had sat down with him to tell him he was going to have a little brother or sister, he had been excited. Even if the novelty had worn off, the fact that he was always sweet and protective on his little sister hadn't. He was a good brother."Dad's going to pick you up from school and stay a bit until Grandma Catherine comes over," April spoke again, addressing both of her kids. "Mommy's going to be very busy with work tonight and Dad has to come, so we're both going to be out late. But I'll call to tell you goodnight, I promise. You're going to be good for Grandma, right?""Yeah," Samuel nodded."Fine." Harriet agreed, but a little pout jutted out her bottom lip. "Can we have TV time?""I…" April looked at Jackson for help."After dinner," he answered. "But that's only if you're good for grandma. Okay? Otherwise, there's no TV time.""Okay!"Both of them loved their little girl dearly even if she hadn't exactly been planned and they would have given anything in the world for her. But a lot of their attention had been on Samuel lately as they tried to deal with his disease and it had started to show in their daughter. She was more dramatic about them not being around and didn't want to be with Grandma Catherine or any babysitter."Alright, it's time to get rolling for school," April clapped both of her hands together to get them going. "Don't forget your lunch boxes. Into the car we go!""Hold on," Jackson paused to grab Samuel by the shoulders, wiping off his mother's lipstick. "Alright, there you go. Come on, Ms. Olian is going to be mad if we're late again."Once her husband and kids were out of the door, April went back upstairs to finish getting ready for her own day. There would be no dressing up or getting fancy for the state of the union address tonight like she had last year. She would be the only member of the president's cabinet who was not under any scrutiny tonight. Every event like this, someone was always set aside in case the end of the world happened. No one ever liked it. It was boring. It always felt like you were being a burden to the secret service detail assigned and seemed like a waste of time. But she had no choice in the matter. The call had come through a couple of days ago and she'd accepted it. At least it meant that she was getting a date night with her husband. Those had been rare lately.The White House was buzzing with activity by the time that she got there, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor getting lost in with everyone else around. The State of the Union address was always a big deal and President Webber was still finalizing the last details of his agenda, trying to make sure that everything fit in. She had submitted her outline for the next twelve months to him a week ago, still waiting to hear back about what would be included."April!" Stephanie, her right-hand woman, caught up with her quickly. "There you are.""Here I am," her eyes widened as she glanced at the frazzled woman. "This must be important if it can't wait until I get to my office." She remarked."Yeah, it is," Steph matched her pace quickly. "I just got a copy of Webber's finalized speech and he didn't include any of our talking points in it. Not a single one.""You're kidding me!" April replied."No." She shook her head. "All of our work just wiped from the agenda.""I need a meeting with Webber." Her brows had already drawn together, wrinkling the skin between them."Already set up. We're heading up there now." A quick left instead of right was taken to reroute herself to the president's office. "And if this doesn't work, we can always leak your plan.""No," April shook her head quickly. "This is about the State of the Union tonight. I don't want to make things about me. I'll talk to him and see what I can get slipped back on the speech again." Her lips pressed together in a thin line, holding back a sigh. "I don't know why he would do this. Let alone without saying something to me before.""Let me know how it goes," Stephanie said.It doesn't take April long to reach the oval office where the president was inside waiting, no doubt booked with meeting after meeting for the day. Just because there was a big event tonight didn't mean that he was going to get a break from all of the other responsibilities that came along with his job."Madam Secretary," Meredith greeted her as she approached. "He's in with the defense secretary. They should be done in just a minute.""Okay. Thank you." April sighed out, her arms folding in front of her chest.She had really wanted to hit it hard with improving the food stamp system in the next year and making sure that the people who needed them were able to get healthy, sustaining food. It hadn't been an easy push. She was an Independent in the White House and it was hard to make friends, especially running under a Republican president. Her foot was in the door but people didn't like listening to her, especially given that she was the first woman to ever have this particular position. Diversifying the cabinet had been a push on Webber's end as the second black President.When the defense secretary walked out of the oval office, April straightened up again, her hands smoothing out her pants. There was no need to be paranoid about her appearance, they had been friends for a long time, and she knew that right now it wasn't going to make a difference one way or another. She just had to find a way to change his mind."Richard," April sighed out as she entered, tough exterior seeming to fall apart. "You couldn't put a single mention of any of my plans in the speech for tonight?""I know. I'm sorry, Madam Secretary, but the speech is locked. That's how it's going to be." He replied."What about food stamp reform?" She exasperated. "Improvement for the Forest Service system? I know that environmental concerns aren't big on your agenda but that could really help to hit them. People would love it. It would be a good way to reach across the aisle.""I'm sorry," he repeated himself. "But as I said, the speech is locked.""Do you not like the ideas?" April questioned. "I've reached back and forth to support you, Mr. President. Even when I haven't agreed with you. Do I not get any of that support back?""April, we're beginning to look at the next term." Her stomach sank as he spoke. "And even if you do identify as a Democrat… some of your ideas are just too liberal and my party isn't going to like it. The more that we can put that on the back burner, the better that it's going to be for both of us.""The better that it's going to be for you," she corrected him. "For you and re-election.""What's done is done," Richard said."Well, I'll still be watching the speech tonight," she sighed out. "In case you change your mind."It was hard to maintain her dignity as she walked out of the oval office, past Meredith without saying a word toward her and headed back down toward her own office. She refused to give up on her own plans. They had been made for a reason: she genuinely thought that they were what was best for the country and its people, and she had the facts and statistics to back up what she believed. She couldn't give up on that. She was just going to have to find a way to start again without letting the politics of Washington get in the way – if that was even possible.Sometimes, April had her doubts about that. She had never been good at playing the game. She wanted to do the right thing and nothing else. Now, it seemed like that was the very thing that was getting her into a tight spot of trouble.The feeling of defeat made the day drag on. She had tried not to fill up her day with meeting after meeting like other days were, for the sake of making it a little easier tonight. Of course, that had been done before she realized that she wouldn't actually be in attendance for the speech itself. Now, she wanted nothing more than some kind of distraction to come up and keep her going for a few more hours.When her husband finally arrived at the White House, it takes the edge off."Not a single thing," April complained, sitting cross-legged in her office chair. "He took out everything. Can you believe that? I mean, I like Richard, I do. But that was just wrong of him.""Is he going to bring you on for his next term?" Jackson asked."Oh," she breathed out. "I… I hadn't even thought about that." Her head fell back against her chair. "Ugh.""We're finally settled in D.C., that's why I ask." He commented and leaned forward. "Sam and Harriet both really like their schools. And he's comfortable with his doctor. If there's going to be any kind of change to this thing… that's something that would be good to know with as much notice as we can get.""I know, I know," she agreed with an uneasy nod of her head. "I just… don't know. I guess I kind of assumed that he would want to but who knows? Maybe I'm too liberal for him.""His loss." Jackson reminded her."Whatever," she shook her head. "Please tell me that you had a better day at work than I did."He doesn't get too far into telling his story about the surgical case that he had been working on earlier in the day before secret service came knocking on the door to bring them to a secured location inside of the safe house for the duration of the speech that would be made. There was already a pizza down there waiting for them like she had asked for earlier in the day, a television in the room as well so that they could both watch the speech at her leisure. But with her anger having boiled throughout the day, she wasn't sure just how interested in that she actually was. Nothing sounded worse than hearing him talk about everyone's plans but hers.Yet despite the agitation, the television is still turned on so she can hear everything else that is talked about. Stephanie had only given her the details about how her points wouldn't be mentioned, not everything else that had made the cut.Crumbling up a greasy napkin, Jackson tossed it in the trash can before his focus turned to his wife. She was staring at the screen despite her previous hesitation about watching in the first place, her brows drawn down and a slight squint in her eyes as she focused. She probably needed a new prescription soon. But she always squinted like that whenever she was focused, so it was hard to tell."It's like he doesn't care about anything other than taxes, taxes, taxes," April complained, tearing off a piece of crust and dipping it in the blob of ranch squirted on her plate. "Hi, there are other important things too. Like eating.""Even if he thinks you can look over it, there are millions of people who disagree with him." Jackson reminded her. "Myself included.""I know, and you're so sweet." She pouted at him after she had chewed and swallowed.He scooted closer to her, lowering his voice slightly so the secret service agents couldn't hear. "And you know… if we get out of here early, both of the kids asleep… I think I might be able to take your mind off of it once we're alone," he smirked at her."I like the sound of that," April leaned in toward her husband, their noses nuzzling together. "Let's do it."The sound of static buzzing on the television distracted both of them from each other, looking up to see the stream of Webber's speech suddenly cut out as the television went black and white."Huh, weird." She commented."Probably just the television," Jackson remarked as he reached forward to grab the remote. He flipped up a channel and the television went back to normal, showing a kid's cartoon. Changing the channel back to the station that the speech was supposed to be broadcasted on, it went right back to the black and white static buzzing on the screen. "Weird."April's phone rang. "See if you can get it back on." She commented as she answered her phone. Stephanie was on the other end, seeing if her speech had cut out. "Yeah, ours too.""Guess we'll just settle here." Jackson flipped it to a news station.The door to the room opened and Ben, the secret service agent who typically ran her detail, walked in. "Madam Secretary, I need you to put the phone down." He instructed, his voice firmer than the usual light, pleasant tone that he carried. "Right now.""What's going on?" April asked."The phone," he repeated himself. She nodded her head and hung up the line, handing it over to him. "We also need your government-issued phone. Dr. Avery, we need your phone as well.""Sure," Jackson agreed, fishing it out of his pocket and handing it over."What's going on?" April asked as she walked over to her purse to get the other iPhone out of it, setting it down on the table and sliding it across to Ben."We've lost contact with the Capitol," Ben answered. "We're sheltering in place until we know more.""Jeez," Jackson sighed out.April paced the length of the room, moving toward the window. From the room, there was a perspective that allowed you to see miles of the city if the weather conditions were right. The Capitol building wasn't far from the house, and it should have been easy to see even with the light pollution that came from the night.On the television, the news reporter spoke. "Hold on. We're just now getting reports that there has been some kind of explosion near the Capitol building."But tonight, April couldn't see the large white dome that marked the Capitol building. Instead, she saw a thick, ugly orange cloud in the air above where the Capitol should have been in the skyline. The cloud of the explosion was thick in the air and she couldn't see any part of the building. The explosion was high and towered over any of the monuments in the city. Where the Capitol building should have been, all she could see was fire from the explosion. There was no building structure. Just violent flames."Madam Secretary, we need you to get away from the window, now." Ben barked the order.She didn't listen. It wasn't until Jackson and Ben both grabbed onto either side of her to guide her away from the vulnerability that came with the glass window."Oh my god…" April breathed out, a hand coming up to cover her mouth."Madam Secretary, we need to leave now," Ben spoke.Everything moved in a rush as he tried to guide her out of the room, the only resistance coming in the slowness that it took her to process that was going on. April reached out for Jackson and clamped a hand down around his. The Capitol had been attacked. Some kind of explosion. She could have been in there – they both could have been in there.With Ben keeping a tight grip on her to make sure that she didn't go anywhere, they moved quickly through the safe house. She could barely overhear some of the chatter that was going on through his earpiece, trying to pick up on what was going on without interruption too much. But the panic was beginning to settle deep in her chest. There was no doubt that it was a direct attack on the government. By the size of the explosion… people were probably dead. Many people were probably dead. She couldn't tell if there was more contact with the Capitol building than there had been minutes ago, but judging by the stress on Ben's face, it didn't look like things were going well."What's going on?" Jackson was less afraid to be vocal in the heat of the moment than she was. But he didn't get any answers despite asking as the two of them were rushed into a motorcade and taken out of the White House. Neither one of them knew where they were going.Both of them were put in the backseat of a dark armored vehicle, Ben and another secret service sitting in the front. Jackson's arm was around April, holding her tight against his chest and his hand rubbing up and down. Harriet and Samuel were on both of their minds, even if their house was more in the suburbs than it was downtown. April complained about the traffic getting to and from, but now, she couldn't have been more grateful they were nowhere near this. Hopefully, Catherine had the TVs off now.April couldn't stand the anxiety that was building inside of her chest. She wished that she had her phone or laptop, something so that she could pull up a news website and try to figure out what was going on. She wasn't getting answers sitting here."What's going on?" She repeated the question, hoping that this time, there would be answers.Ben doesn't immediately give any, though. When he spoke, it was clear that it was into his earpiece and not directed at them. "This is Warren. Don't tell me that. Oh, God." April felt her heart skip in her chest. Jackson's hand tightened on her arm."What's going on? What is it?" She tried the question again."It's been confirmed." Ben turned to face April before he continued, looking her in the eye. "Eagle is gone. Congress, the Cabinet… No one made it.""Oh–oh my god," April stuttered out, her jaw falling open as she stared back at Ben. They were gone. Everyone was gone. Friends, coworkers. Everyone that she saw on a daily basis and didn't think twice about as she passed them through the hallways, everyone trying to go about their own business. All of them were dead. And she would have been if she had been in the room with them."Holy shit," Jackson swore as he pulled his wife tighter against him.Panic settled deep inside of her chest as she tried to figure out what all of this meant. Jackson's mind had already been made: it was a brutal act of terrorism, plain and simple. There were a hundred other questions about who had done it and why, but he could see what it was plain and simple. The Capitol was a symbol. By itself, it would have been a drastic act of terrorism. But the fact that almost the entirety of the U.S. government had been inside of the building when it happened… an attack like this was entirely unprecedented. Nothing seemed to compare to it.April's chest was tight and she had a hand on her husband's thigh, trying not to grab on too tight. Her hand was tight but he wouldn't complain about it. All of the worries that she had earlier in the day about not being included in the speech didn't matter. The insecurities that she was being pushed aside by both not being included and not being able to be at the State of the Union address were gone. Now, she couldn't have been more grateful to be alive. That she would be able to kiss and hold each one of their children again. But there were a thousand other questions swarming through her head – who had done this, how had an attack like this been planned. Security for events like this was as tight as it could have been and yet something like this had still managed to slip through despite all of that.What happened next?"Yes, sir. I'll let her know." Ben continued on with some kind of conversation in the mic. Both of Jackson's arms were now around April, not wanting to let go of her. He didn't care that he wasn't buckled up even as the motorcade whipped through the city."Let me know what?" April questioned, looking up from Jackson's arms and blinking back her tears."Madam Secretary, we are now enacting continuity of government. A D.C. appellate judge will meet us at the White House." Ben's voice was still calm despite everything that was going on. Neither Jackson nor April had any idea how he managed to keep up such an exterior.Her heart pounded inside her chest, so loud that she could hear the blood rushing in her hears."Ma'am, you are now the President of the United States."Nausea hit her immediately after the words had come out of Ben's mouth is nearly overwhelming and she squeezed tighter on Jackson's thigh as she tried not to have such a visceral reaction. Hours ago, she'd been questioning whether or not President Webber still wanted her on her cabinet, whether she was going to have to start looking for a new job or if perhaps she'd take a little time off to just be a stay-at-home mom and let Jackson work. The most stressful thing in her life was supposed to be managing everything with Samuel and his cancer.Now, there was the entirety of a shattered United States on her hands."It's, okay, it's okay." Jackson could sense his wife's panic in her silence. How could she not be utterly terrified by everything that was going on so suddenly? His lips pressed against her temple, a few gentle kisses being placed there as he held her tight, rocking back and forth slightly as if she were a child. Neither one of the secret service agents in the front said a word about it, just as much as in shock as they were.April wasn't qualified to be the leader of the free world. She was well aware of that. Part of the reason that Webber had taken her on as the Secretary of Agriculture was that she wasn't a politician, but she had so much hands-on work with both farming and all of the technicalities behind it. She had only been teaching at Texas A&M for a few years before D.C. It had been a drastic change and she didn't regret it, she loved her job and the work that she was able to accomplish on a national scale. She knew that it was important and she knew that she was good at it. But that was a smaller-scale, focused on only a few select issues. It was nowhere near the same as running an entire country.The same question ran through her mind again. What happened next?Even if she didn't know how to keep going forward mid-panic, there were people that did. When the motorcade arrived at the White House, April and Jackson were both rushed inside by Ben. The White House wasn't crowded like it normally was during the day – so many had gone to see the speech in person. So many that were now dead."Ma'am." The appellate judge spoke, trying to get April's attention. "Ma'am, please."April blinked before looking at her, giving a nod of her head. She was in jeans and a Harvard sweatshirt – Jackson's – with camera lights shining at her from phones."Sir, if you can please hold the Bible." The judge spoke to Jackson. He nodded."Ma'am, please place your hand on the Bible." April felt like she was in a daze as she placed her hand down on her book. "Now, repeat after me. I, April Noelle Kepner, do solemnly swear.""I, April Noelle Kepner, do solemnly swear." She echoed."That I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States." The judge continued."That I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.""And will, to the best of my ability.""And will, to the best of my ability…""Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God.""Preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help me God." As April repeated the final words from the judge, she could feel the weight of the world settle in on her shoulders.This was it. There was no turning back."Madam President," the judge nodded toward her and she nodded back, taking a deep breath."Madam President, you're going to have to come with me now," Ben spoke."Dr. Avery, Secret Service will take you up to the residence now." Another agent spoke to her husband. She looked at him with panic, wanting nothing more than to keep him right by her side for the rest of the night. What if something else happened? Would he be safe?She shook her head, standing her ground for a moment. "What about our children?""Secret Service has already been sent to your house to pick up Samuel, Harriet, and their grandmother," Ben answered. "Ma'am, you really need to come with me now."April stepped aside for a brief moment to stretch up her toes and share a kiss with Jackson that was far too short before she was pulled aside to follow Ben somewhere. She wasn't sure where they were going. She had never been through this portion of the White House. She knew that it was a big build and it had tons of secret tunnels and passages, but she'd never seen most of them before. She supposed now, that was all going to change."Ben–" she gripped onto his arm suddenly. "I'm so sorry. I need to go to the bathroom.""Of course, ma'am." Down one hallway and a few steps later, he stopped outside the door and opened it for her. "I'll be out here."Throwing herself into a bathroom stall, the pizza that she had for dinner doesn't hesitate to come up. She retched into the toilet, flushing it quickly once she was done before sitting back on her heels. She wiped her mouth with some of the toilet paper, only realizing at the sound of another toilet flushing that she wasn't alone in the bathroom stall."Yeah, me too," a female voice spoke up."Sorry. I didn't realize that someone else was in here." Slowly, April stood up."Well, everything's different now." A dry chuckle followed the other woman's words. "I went from celebrating and now… I mean, who's in charge? I'm asking because I actually don't know.""Kepner. April Kepner." She opened up her stall and went over to the sink, gargling a little water and wiping beneath her eyes to make sure that there were no mascara stains."Kepnerd. Yeah, agriculture. She's going to be the president? I bet most of the country doesn't even know who she is. I'm telling you, we need a leader. We're not getting one." The voice was snide as she spoke and she turned to look at them as the bathroom stall door open. She recognized the face – Cristina Yang. One of the aides.The panic was immediate. For once, April was glad to not be the one reading out. "I hope you're wrong.""Madam President. I'm so sorry," She apologized quickly."It's okay." She took a deep breath. "You're allowed to have an opinion. I just hope that I can change it."Exiting the bathroom, Ben was waiting for as he had promised. They continued to walk down the hallway, heading down a staircase that she had never seen before. His badge was scanned at the door and he held open the door for her to step in.Inside of the unfamiliar room was a round table surrounded with men yelling back and forth, large screens conveying shots of the explosion, the news, and other things. On the news, they were talking about her. There was a shot of her being sworn in already on display, looking like a deer in headlights – something the anchors didn't hesitate to discuss. No one seemed to notice when she walked into the room. From the image, she could tell she looked far from presidential right now."Excuse me," April spoke up, getting no attention. A few seconds passed before she repeated herself. "Excuse me!""Madam Secretary." An older redhead addressed her. "I'm Major Hunt.""Do we know who did this?" April asked."Not yet." He turned from her, addressing some of the other men at the table. "Do we have the CIA director yet? Get a secure comm. We need to alert all of the embarrasses to convey to each host nation that the U.S. is on a war footing and now is not the time to test us." He barked orders back and forth without hesitation, and it seemed like everyone at the table just listened. She was momentarily jealous.A hand on her arm surprised her and she flinched, relieved when she realized that it was Stephanie. Both arms immediately wrapped around her in utter relief. "I'm so glad to see you," she murmured."We're going to be live in forty minutes from the East Room," Stephanie said."Crap," April breathed out. "Can you bring me a change of clothes?""Of course. They don't know who did this?" April shook her head. Stephanie turned toward Major Hunt, sizing him up without any hesitation. "Major Hunt, you need to find answers in the next half hour. The entire world is looking at us right now and you are not going to put April in front of the camera without them. We need to tell them something.""Yes ma'am," he nodded, moving back to the table to follow orders. "Tell the joint chiefs we are going to DEFCON 2.""Thank you, Steph," April said, taking her hand and giving it an appreciative squeeze."Don't thank me. You need to start getting ready."Ben escorted her to the residence so that she could get changed into something more presentable. The only real relief came when she finally set her eyes on her husband, throwing both of her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He lifted her up for just a moment, holding her against his chest before setting him back down. This was utter chaos. Neither one of them knew where to begin but he helped her get into a nice dress and blazer. She fixed her makeup in a rush and Jackson walked along with her down to the East Room."How are the kids?" April asked, her hand holding onto his as they rounded the corner."Samuel's freaked out. Scared. I got one of the agents to take him down to the kitchen so that he could have some ice cream to hopefully take his mind off of it for a little bit. Harriet was asleep, so she doesn't really know what's going on." Jackson explained.The cancer talk had been had with both of them after Samuel's diagnosis. But this… this was something different."What are we going to tell them?" She looked up at him for guidance. "I mean, I don't want to scare them even more. But… this is scary. This is really scary. I'm terrified. I'm completely unprepared for this and now the entire world is about to be staring at me while I try not to cry on camera.""You are not going to cry on camera. You look the part." Jackson squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about the kids. We can figure that out afterward. You've got this. The speech is written for you. All you have to do is read it. Just like reading the kid's a bedtime story."April snorted, a smile softening her lips. "This is nothing like that."She was right.With the camera crew setting up the camera and lights, a woman comes up to her once she was seated down to tweak with her hair and makeup. She appreciated the help. Even if she had managed to cover up most of the freckles on her face with foundation and brighten up her eyes with mascara, being on camera like this was intimidating in absolutely every sense of the word. It helped now that she had Jackson standing on the edge of the room, alongside Stephanie. Two people she trusted were right there. All she had to do was read the speech off the page, and hope that she was able to deliver."Uh, Madam President, your bracelet." It was a craft bracelet – Harriet had made it for her one day at school and she rarely took it off. "It's not very presidential." One of the women spoke."Right," She muttered, sliding it off her wrist and tossing it to Jackson. "Thank you.""Madam President, you're live in five, four, three, two…"April took a deep breath.
"My fellow Americans…"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"My fellow Americans, last night, our country was hit by one of the most devastating attacks we have ever seen. But as before, America will show the world that we will not bow down to fear, that we will fight back, that we will persevere."
CNN, Fox News, ABC, and every other news channel replayed highlights of the speech that the new president had given last night only hours after the terror attack had struck the Capitol. All of them were trying to dig up every piece of evidence – the good, the bad, and the ugly – that could be found about the new woman who would be running their country. For better or for worse, there was truly little that could be found. Most of her life before she had come to D.C. had little going on – she'd been published a few times as a professor here and there, but it was hardly political.
"Who is President Kepner?"

"Despite the President's remarks last night, most Americans remain terrified."

"Needless to say, this president is not equipped for office."
It was rare to see so many different news stations managing to come together in agreement about anything. Yet today was one of those rare days. What had happened the night before was horrific, there was little to know about the new woman who was in power, and none of them had confidence that she was capable of seeing out justice and unifying the country again.April had her own doubts. She didn't need the world adding to them.Even though her confidence as a whole had grown now that she was an adult, a successful wife, and mother, good at her job – or at least, she had thought so until Webber had cut all of her remarks from his speech. Now, though, it didn't matter if she was good at being the Secretary of Agriculture. That was a small job compared to running the entire country. She had to start over again by figuring out how best to do her job and no time to do it. The world was watching. But it was more than the pressure of witnesses. It was the need to do the right thing.All night, she had been up. After the speech had been made, she had gone right back to the war room. No answers had come in the hours that she had spent awake, running back and forth between that and people trying to get her prepared for her job. No sleep was to be her new normal.The morning sun rose above the fallen capital city. As news reporters continued to blather on and her new phone came up with notification after notification, she turned off the television and set her phone face down. If something urgent came in, then Stephanie or Ben would come in to tell her directly. She knew that and she trusted them. They were smart and good."Did you get any sleep last night?" Jackson asked, brows drawing down with concern. "You know that you need to get some. We've talked about this before.""No, I couldn't. Not last night," she shook her head, running her hand over her face."I didn't get much either," he admitted with a shrug. "Sam and Harriet both wanted to sleep with me last night. They were scared. I think they were waiting for you to come to bed.""I'm sorry, honey," April sighed and slouched. "I should've come to see them. Are they eating breakfast now?" He nodded his head. "Why don't we go join them? I need coffee.""Good idea."Food was just another thing that April had forgotten throughout the course of the night, but thinking about it was enough to make her stomach grumble. Hand in hand, she and her husband made their way from the residence and toward the kitchen of the White House.The White House remained buzzing with energy even early in the morning, almost every important military general and personnel making their presence there, nearly every important person in D.C. who was still alive finding a reason to be there this morning. April can't avoid getting stopped with comments and other things as the two of them just try to make their way to their children, wanting at least five minutes to be able to sit down with them. She hadn't prepared what she was going to say to them.What did someone even say in a situation like this one?All of the worry growing inside of her was momentarily relieved when she heard Harriet's loud laughter. A smile relaxed her lips and she glanced up at Jackson, seeing him smile too. Their children were still okay."Hi babies," April greeted both of them with a smile."Mom!" Samuel got up from his chair, immediately hugging her. She ruffled his hair gently. "Are we really in the White House? Where the president lives?""Yeah, kiddo, we are. Remember? We talked about this some last night." Jackson said."We thought you was joking," Harriet said."No, ladybug, Daddy was being serious." April sat down once her son had let go of her. She placed her hand on top of her daughter's. "Daddy told you that something very bad and scary happened last night, right? That was why the Secret Service came to pick up you and Grandma.""Yeah," Samuel nodded."Well… because of what happened last night, Mommy's going to be president now." She unloaded on them, holding back a sigh. "It means that I'm going to have to work a lot more. Especially the next few days while we try and sort out the bad thing that happened.""What about us?" Harriet asked."Nothing is going to happen to either one of you," April squeezed her daughter's hand with a promise. "You guys are in the safest place in the whole wide world. And you have lots of people looking out for you now, more than just me and Dad. I promise. We're all going to be safe and happy, we're just going to have a much bigger house now.""Are we still going to go to the same school?" Samuel looked between both of his parents. "I really like my friends. I don't want to go to a different school."April paused with her mouth open. "I'm not sure," Jackson spoke up. "We're still figuring it out. We may not have a choice about everything. But if we have to do something we don't like, then it's probably to make sure that we're all safe. Okay?""Okay," he mumbled."Okay." Harriet echoed."So… you're really the president now?" Samuel asked after a moment passed, looking up at me. "But you'll still go to the doctor with me, right? I don't want to go with just Dad. No offense.""I'll do my best," she shifted closer to her son as she spoke. "Okay? I don't know for sure. I want to. And I'll do my very best to be there. But things are definitely going to be different now."He leaned into his mother, wrapping his arms around her. She rubbed his back gently. "I don't want things to change.""I know, baby, I don't really want them to either," she empathized. "But sometimes we don't get a choice. Sometimes we get asked to do hard things and we just have to do it because it's the right thing to do. That's what I'm doing right now." April kissed the top of his head. "It's going to take some getting used to, but we will all be fine. I promise."April hoped it was a promise she could keep.She doesn't get to stay down in the kitchen with her husband and children as long as she wanted to. Instead, she only got a few minutes of relative peace with the three of them before Stephanie found her down there, letting her know that she was needed again. April wasn't sure how she was going to manage to get used to the constant busyness of the job. Everything felt like it was never-ending.It takes some getting used to, figuring out how to navigate the White House. She'd been in it plenty of times before and yet now, it was an utterly different feeling. This was her White House. It was her family who was going to be living in the residence. She would have to piece together a new administration to fill it once more. Now, it seemed both empty and chaotic at the same time. Paranoid whispers continued even as she rushed past it, fear and mourning. No one was entirely settled with the speech that had been given the night before."I need to warn you," Stephanie started as they walked down to the Oval Office. "This meeting is going to be a lot more hectic than the ones that you're used to.""I had a bad feeling that you were going to say that."Taking a deep breath, her hands ran over the front of her dress to smooth it out and fiddled with her blazer. This morning, she had gotten the chance to pull it out of her own closet after some things had been brought it, but she didn't feel like she looked nice enough."We've added increased security to our oil and gas pipelines, power grids, refineries, chemical storage tanks." The first man spoke."Mass transit is still on lockdown – planes, and trains.""Immigration remains frozen.""Ma'am, you have to authorize - we close the banks immediately."Words were thrown at her faster than what she could process and yet none of it was what April had been hoping that she would actually get a chance of hearing this morning: some kind of information about the bombing, some kind of good news that they were headed down the right path to figuring out who had done this. A deep breath was taken before she could get herself to speak up."We can't keep people from their money," April murmured."If we don't shut down the banks, it could cause a massive depression. The banks will collapse. One that will define your legacy just as much as whatever happens next." One of the advisors replied."What about the bombing?" She switched subjects. "Where are we with that?""Deputy Director Yang will be briefing us soon, but we're looking at groups with the skills and resources to do something like this. ISIS, North Korea, RGB." Major Hunt answered."How did the terrorists bring explosives into the Capitol Building in the first place?" She questioned."We're working on that. In the meantime, we have to go after everyone we suspect. We go after them, after their families - anyway that we can." Hunt answered."I'm sorry," Stephanie interrupted. "Are you talking about enhanced interrogation?""They destroyed our Capitol. I'm saying we do whatever we have to do." He replied."No," April spoke up with a shake of her head. "There's no way that we're going to do that. That is not going to be a part of this administration. We are not going to become terrorists ourselves in order to try and seek out justice for what happened against our country. That's unacceptable." She took a deep breath, looking at him sternly before turning to one of the other men in the room. "For now, we're going to close the banks. But ATMs and credit will still be available. If you'll excuse me."Her heart was pounding inside of her ribcage as she stepped out of the Oval Once with Stephanie quickly following on her heels. Was she completely in over her head?"Was that okay?" She whispered to Stephanie."You're the president now, Ma'am," her advisor replied. "It was and more importantly, they have to listen to you even if they disagree with you. Right now, you're pretty much the government.""Right…" April wet her lips. "I need to put together a cabinet. I'm going to need your help with that. I know that I want you to be my Chief of Staff. You're the only one that I trust to do that and to help me. I'm going to need a strong cabinet to get me through this. Preferably with some experience. More experience than I have, at least.""I'll get something put together," Stephanie promised her."And there's one more thing," she tried to relax, forcing herself to stand up straight. "I want to go see the Capitol. What's left of it.""That's a good idea," she nodded her head. "It'll send a powerful message."The message wasn't what she was concerned about but April gave a nod of her head in understanding. That was something important and something that she would need to begin to think about more consciously. It hadn't mattered so much as Secretary of Agriculture. She was sure that most people hadn't even known who she was then. Sure, she'd been in the cabin and that was important, but it wasn't as flashy as something like the Secretary of Defense – which was a position that she currently needed desperately.But she needed to take one step at a time, as hard as that was going to be. It wasn't something that she was sure that she would have the patience for while things were on high alert like this.Messages of support continued to pour in from the heads of state of countries all around the world. April wasn't able to take the calls personally like she wanted to – there was far too many to be able to juggle that on top of everything else that she had to do. But she wished that she could take a few. She could have used a few little pep talks from respected world leaders."Madam President, I want you to know that I don't care what those so-called pundits are saying. I was very moved by your words last night." An older, dark-haired woman spoke to her as she moved through the hallways of the White House."Well, thank you," April smiled, pleasantly surprised. "I'm so sorry, but who are you?""Madam President, this is Congresswoman Amelia Shepherd," Stephanie answered."Congresswoman?" April questioned."Yes," she nodded her head. "I was last night's other designated survivor. The party decided that they wanted to have someone sit out of the State of the Union as well.""Excuse us, please," April spoke to Stephanie so that she could pull the Congresswoman into another room. For the first time today, she felt something akin to relief. Perhaps she wasn't as alone in this as she had thought that she was before. Someone else had managed to survive the horrific bombing.Both women sat down at the corner of the table in the room. April took a deep breath, not wanting to get too emotional. But perhaps there was someone else who understood the crazy position that she was in, just a little."435 representatives, 100 senators, and 9 justices. And now it's just the two of us." She remarked."I know. You don't know whether to feel ashamed or grateful to be alive," Amelia replied.April didn't hesitate to disagree slightly. "Apologetic.""Ma'am?" She questioned."To the American people, because now they're all stuck with me. I mean, let's face it. No one knew who I was before and people barely know who I am now, other than some lucky son of a gun." She explained, her bottom lip catching between her teeth."Do you remember the way that the country felt during 9/11? No one thought that we could get through it back then, but we did. And nobody thinks that we can get through it now, but we will. This White House is now your White House. You have to make it your own. Whatever you need, don't ask. Demand it. Democrat, Republican, Independent – pardon me, but who gives a shit right now?" The bluntness in Amelia's words was enough to get a real smile out of April."Thank you, Congresswoman," she replied genuinely."Please, call me Amelia.""Okay." She nodded. "Amelia, later this afternoon, I'm going to the Capitol. I think it would be a good idea if we could go together. A showing of unity. What do you think?""I'd be honored, Madam President. Thank you.""No, thank you."At least the next time that she was in the Oval Office, it was not surrounded by Majors and advisors who made her feel utterly out of place with her presence there. Instead, it was her and her husband. April still didn't feel entirely right sitting in the chair and behind the desk – it was the last place that she had seen President Webber and she just couldn't bring herself to do it yet. Instead, it had been easier to settle down on the two couches with a pot of coffee on the table between them.It was one of those moments where no conversation was truly necessary. Words couldn't convey everything that was happening. Their entire lives had been thrown for a loop. Murkiness was the only thing either one of them could see going forward.Jackson set down his cup of coffee and stood up, moving over to the couch with his wife. He pulled her feet into his lap, leaving her heels on the floor, and began to rub the arch of her feet. Immediately, a groan parted her lips. She had been running around in heels all day and they had stopped being comfortable after about an hour of it. She hadn't thought flats looked professional enough but now she was close to the point of not caring."Thank you," April murmured, a smile on her lips as she briefly rested her eyes."Samuel discovered that there's a bowling alley here," Jackson said. "I think it made him feel a lot better about it. And when Harriet realized how big her bed was now, well, that made her very happy.""That's good," she nodded her head. "I want them to at least be happy here. Maybe it'll keep them away from the television and everything else that's going on right now.""Is it going to be safe for you to go down to the Capitol site today?" He asked."Ben will make sure that it is," she answered. "I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't let me if it wasn't. He'd probably get me in a fireman's hold and physically restrain me if he had to." She chuckled even though it really wasn't funny. "I'll be safe. I just wish you could come. I want you around all day.""Unfortunately, I don't think they'd approve of that." Jackson gave her hand a little squeeze. "Besides, if you're wearing dresses and heels all the time now, then the world is just going to see me staring at your ass."She poked his stomach with her foot, smiling. "You're terrible.""We still have this giant house to christen, you know. It's a big one." He wasn't quite serious with his words, teasing her to keep that smile on her face. He knew she was under enormous pressure and would do anything to see her smile right now."After I go to the Capitol, I have a meeting with Director Yang and then I need to call back some heads of states to apologize and also start figuring out a new cabinet." April sighed while thinking about the responsibilities. "But maybe we can have a late dinner. Just us.""Did you know I'm supposed to have a staff of my own? Except they're going to have to rename it. I think they want to do First Gentleman." Jackson commented, switching the foot he was massaging."First Gentleman," she echoed. "I"m not ready to have the nation drool over my husband.""I'm not ready to have the world drool over my wife, but here we are," he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I'd like to still work as a doctor if I can, but I understand that right now… it's probably not a good idea. The kids need one of us around. When things have calmed down again, maybe we can figure it out then." He suggested."Of course," she nodded her head. "I don't want you to give up your work because of me.""Right," he said slowly. "This is an exceptional circumstance, though. It's another thing we'll figure out later."A knock on the door interrupted the moment between them and April couldn't help but sigh, knowing what that meant. It was likely Ben telling her that there were only a few minutes before they need to take her for the pending appearance at the Capitol's remains and to go over security protocols. It was odd for her to think about the fact that there was now likely a large population that wanted her dead for her role. She didn't want to think about it."I love you, pumpkin," Jackson said and leaned forward, kissing her lips softly. "I'll see you tonight.""I love you too."Her prediction was correct.Ben came into the room to deliver strict instructions about what she could and couldn't do while she was out there. He had brought a change of clothes for her as well – a pair of black slacks and a blouse and blazer that she was sure Stephanie had picked out, as well as a pair of boots with a low and wide heel instead of the typical high heels that she had been wearing. That was a welcome relief and likely to make it easier to get around the rubble remains.Driving through the streets from the short distance from the White House to what was left of the Capitol Building, she could feel her anxiety growing. There would be press. Photos. Questions that she wasn't ready to answer. But more importantly, the remains of an attack that had taken hundreds of lives. No survivors had been assumed as they had begun digging through what was left and pulling out bodies of some of the nation's beloved (or not so beloved) representatives. April knew that she couldn't get emotional, that she had to be strong. But she also knew that it wasn't going to be easy.As the motorcade pulled to a stop, she shut her eyes for a long moment and took a deep breath. She could do this. She had to do this. Not only for herself, but for a grieving country."Ma'am?" Ben spoke."Yes?""You should wear this." He leaned forward and placed a small, presidential looking American flag pin to her blazer. "It's good for appearances. Remember, don't get more than an arm's length away from me."Nodding her head to let him know that she had heard him, he signaled and the door was opened. Placing both feet on the ground, April stood up and squinted for a moment as she took in the site before her.Half of the dome of the Capitol building remained but it was no longer a stark white, instead blackened from the flames and smoke that had been emitted in the bomb blast. Most of the building had fallen apart. Gray and brown were everywhere, messy piles of what had once been the most iconic building in the entirety of the United States. What stuck to her most was the smell – it was absolutely horrific, a cataclysmic mess of every terrible burnt smell imaginable all in one place. She stood there for a long moment as she absorbed the image that would mark the next few years of her life, eyes widening as she forced back tears from spilling over."Ma'am," Ben murmured to her, reminding her that she needed to move.A small, jittery nod was given as she began to force her feet closer to the site. As she came closer and the first responders workin the scene recognized her presence, all of them stopped what they were doing and straightened up to formally respect her. As April made eye contact with a few weary faces, she gave a soft smile and tearful nod of her head in recognition for what they were doing.She had thought her job was hard. But suddenly, she was forced to face the recognition that she wasn't the only one here who had suddenly been faced with an unimaginably tough job. What they were doing had to be more difficult.Silence fell as people turned and faced her, waiting for her to speak. Amelia nodded encouragingly as they made eye contact."Thank you all for being here today," April started slowly. "I thought I would have a better sense of what to say when I got here, but to be honest with you, I don't. There are no words to convey the tragedy that this attack is. And I thought that I had a hard job, but coming here to see what you're all doing… you have a job that is much, much harder than mine. And I am so sorry that you have to do this. But I thank you all for what you're doing. I promise, I am going to find out who did this and they will be brought to justice. We're doing everything that we can. Thank you for doing everything that you can. If there's anything that you need, please, let me know and we'll do our best to accommodate you."Some applause followed the president's words after she spoke and she stepped down from the rubble that had given her some height. Stephanie nodded her head in approval of the little speech. A few firefighters and other first responders came up, shaking her hand and thanking her."We appreciate you coming out here," a woman spoke to her. "Captain Herrera. My team here is from NYC. We drove down last night after the news, knew you'd need more hands.""Thank you, Captain," April replied. "We appreciate it and, well, you know better than I do that we do.""Anything that we can do to help, Ma'am." She gave her hand a firm squeeze.Captain Herrera stepped back to continue with the work that she and her crew of firefighters were doing. April stood there for a few moments longer as she stared at everything that was being done. It would take days, weeks to clear out the scene. Then there was the matter of actually rebuilding – it would have to be done as soon as possible. She knew that."Hey!" Someone shouted. "I think we've got something!"Other first responders began to rush over to the man who was speaking and April stepped up, stretching up on her toes to try and see what was going on. "Ma'am, please, step down," Ben said as he approached her."We got a live one!" A man yelled.Without thinking, April turned on her heel and ran toward the sound of the man yelling along with the other first responders. She could hear Ben shouting after her, not thinking for a moment about how what she was doing was a huge security risk and ultimately going to end up as a lecture against her. But the press, on the other hand, watching and waiting with their cameras, were eager to catch every moment of her.Firefighters worked quickly to remove the rubble that had pinned down the man and kept him hidden for nearly eighteen hours since the bomb had gone off. He was barely conscious. Men were shouting and as Ben caught up with April, he grabbed onto her shoulder to keep her still."Someone's alive?" April shouted."It's Senator Taylor!" Another man called out."Let me see, let me go." April requested and Ben begrudgingly let go of her so that she could climb up onto the rumble with the firefighters herself and see what was going on.Sunlight poured into the hole that had been opened up in order to free the man from the rubble. He stirred momentarily and his eyes eventually opened to squint back against the bright light shining down on him. Blood and grime were splatted across his face and what had once been a neat tuxedo. The EMTs worked along with the firefighters to get him out safely."Senator, you're going to be okay." She spoke up loudly to make sure that he heard her. "You're going to be just fine."The press did not hesitate to go crazy with taking more photos and shouting questions – both to Senator Taylor and to President Kepner, trying to get answers to either one of them. Once he had been pulled entirely out of the rubble and secured to be taken to the hospital, Warren quickly escorted April out of the scene, well aware that she would want to go to the hospital herself. She apologized to Amelia on the quick exit. But there was no way that she could stay a minute longer. April had to see this through and make sure that her words were a kept promise.Driving to the hospital couldn't have possibly felt longer. April had been nervous going in and yet the way that her heart now pounded as they moved to the hospital was even more erratic. Senator Matthew Taylor. Wyoming, she was almost certain – a Republican. She'd barely interacted with him. Somehow, he had survived. It was a miracle.At the hospital, however, she doesn't get to interact with the Senator. Instead, he was taken up to surgery. An arrangement of flowers and a handwritten note was left once she had assurance from the doctors that he would be fine."I can't believe someone survived," Stephanie said."I can't either…" April shook her head. "I saw the bomb blast from the safe house. It was huge. And the remains… to think that anyone was able to survive that… And yet I'm relieved.""Well, he is a Republican." She pointed out."That's not what I mean," she gave a dry chuckle. "Someone else who knows what they're doing. That's a good thing. I need as many people helping me out here and I can. Having Shepherd, and Taylor… that's good. Plus I'm sure it'll give me a little more credibility in the press. It's not just me running things.""That's true," Steph agreed. "But still. I'd prefer you keeping Shepherd close and him at an arm's length, at least, in private. In public, you need to become besties with both of them.""Figures," April murmured. "I'll do what I can. I'm just grateful for the miracles that we have right now."Leaning forward to grab the remote and turn on the television, both women turned their heads as CNN came on the screen. Coverage had been nonstop since the attack – no leads had been released to the public yet that had not stopped them from spiraling with their own. It was fear mongering at its worst. There was still a lack of confidence in her. The meeting that she'd had upon coming back to the White House had only confirmed that they still didn't know who had attacked the Capitol or how they had managed to get explosives into the building.
PRESIDENT KEPNER VISITS CAPITOL.

SURVIVOR FOUND AFTER TERROR ATTACK.

SENATOR MATTHEW TAYLOR FOUND ALIVE IN CAPITOL REMAINS.
All of the headlines that played across the screen were news that April was already familiar with. The news remained on even when she went back to the residence so that she could join her husband – dinner had fallen through. Jackson had texted her that they had eaten while she had been in the meeting with Director Yang. Time at the hospital had pushed back her schedule.Both her children had ended up asleep by the time that she came back. She'd given them each a kiss on the forehead before going to join her husband in bed, happy to put on pajamas and hope that she could at least get in an hour or two of time asleep with him."Did you get to talk to him any? The senator that survived?" Jackson asked."Not really. He was out of it at the site and then went into surgery at the hospital." She answered. "Do you know any of the surgeons who were working on him over there?""Unless he needed a plastics guy, probably not." He took her hand, kissing the back of her knuckles. "I'm glad you're going to have some help. Maybe it means I can get a little more time with you.""I'm sorry I missed dinner." April shifted closer to her husband, giving him a soft kiss. "I wanted to be there.""It's okay," he murmured."I guess it was naive to think I'd be able to balance this right off the bat," she commented with a sigh, placing her hand on his face and smiling at him. "This is going to be really hard. Even if I miss dinners though, I want Samuel to know I'm coming to doctor appointments still."Jackson nodded his head. "I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. I've been looking into tutors for him. I mean, I figure right now, that's probably the only option we really have.""You're probably right," she sighed. "I know he's not going to like that. But maybe while he's getting treatment, it'll be good for him. He won't have to worry about falling behind.""He will be fine." He leaned forward, kissing his wife firmly. "And so will we.""You know…" April breathed out softly, bottom lip catching between her teeth for a brief moment. "We have a minute now if you're still interested in starting to christen the house.""Well, a minute's all I need." He answered with a laugh."Don't you dare." She pouted. "C'mere."The first time that Jackson and April had sex in the White House, it was not with the same celebratory chutzpah that many presidents and their spouse had upon first getting to move in. Instead, it was something much more meaningful between the two of them. Scratches were left down the muscles along Jackson's back and hickies along April's ribs and inner thighs, each one of them desperately clinging to one another with the sheer desperation and relief to hold and to have another, to both be alive after the tragedy. It was hot and loud and messy and desperately needed.Covered in sweat and panting to catch their breath by the time that they were both truly spent after a few rounds, April kept one leg hooked over Jackson's frame but otherwise spread out slightly to cool off. The television had been muted and all either one of them could hear was the sound of each other breathing."You're going to do this," Jackson spoke up after a few minutes. "We are. But mostly, you are. You're going to be good at this. You've got the biggest heart. Right now, the country needs someone with a heart. With compassion. You don't get that in an everyday politician.""I'm only going to be able to do this if I've got you by my side." She needed her support system."You'll have me. Every step of the way, I promise.""I know," April smiled softly, rolling onto her side and propping herself up with her elbow. "I do. And I'm lucky to have you. You're going to have to keep me responsible for keeping my crap together with our family.""You won't need me to once we adjust," he reassured. "Once we know who did this, we'll find some kind of pattern that works for all of us. I know we will. You've always been a little bit superhuman."Her eyes rolled but she smiled. "I'm not. I got lucky. I have the best kids in the world and the best husband in the world.""I'll make sure that Steph gets down Samuel's next doctor appointment down on your calendar and that she knows it can't be moved or skipped." He promised. "We won't let him down."Suddenly, the door to their bedroom flew open."Oh my god!""Shit!"April and Jackson both scrambled to cover themselves up with limbs and the bedsheets upon Stephanie bursting into their bedroom as if she had practically heard her name on the other side of the door. She blinked in surprise to see both of them in a nude and awake state, having anticipated that she was about to wake up the president with the newest emergency that had occurred."Uh, Ma'am, you're going to need to get dressed," Stephanie started after a pause. "We've got a situation.""What is it now?" April held the sheet tight over her chest, looking around for clothing in reach."Dearborn, Michigan. According to reports, police were harassing the Muslim population there. Two men were shot and killed by the police and the riots are just now starting." She exclaimed with a grimace."Shit," April swore and shot an apologetic glance at Jackson."Go. It's okay," he encouraged her with a nod of the head.Quickly getting out of bed and taking one of the sheets with her, the redhead grabbed the closest set of clothes that she could and pulled her hair back in a messy bun. Glasses were gathered from the nightstand to avoid having to put her contacts back in and she put on a pair of flip flops to quickly head back down to the other end of the White House."We've got to get this under control ASAP," Stephanie spoke. "If you don't, it's only going to start a new set of people questioning your authority.""It's unacceptable. We can't just target people because we're afraid. This White House is not going to stand for that." She stated, rubbing both hands over her face and taking a deep breath. "What do I do? Do I call someone? Do I go to Michigan?" Questions came out quickly."We're making a statement. I'll get someone in here to fix your hair and face."It seemed as if there was going to be some kind of statement from her every day of her presidency at this rate. That was the only thing that she could think of as she settled down in front of the camera again, being pulled around like a doll so that she didn't look sleep deprived and getting rid of the sex hair that Jackson had roused. This time when the cameraman counts down for her to begin, she's more comfortable than she was the night before.
"Good evening, America…"

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"President Kepner came down hard last night to condemn the police shootings in Dearborn, Michigan, an unprovoked act of violence against two Muslim men by local police officers. As of now, these officers' names have not been revealed. Despite the strong works, Michigan's governor has still failed to come out against the increased police presence in the community."
As if there hadn't already been enough for news anchors to talk about, more seemed to keep happening.
"In a miraculous turn of events, Republican Senator Matthew Taylor was pulled out of the rubble at the site of the attack on the Capitol. Although word has been kept tight around the senator's condition, all signs are pointing toward Senator Taylor making a full recovery."
A sigh escaping from April's lip, she shook her head to herself as she leaned forward to grab the remote off of the table and shut off the television. There was silence for a few moments and she leaned back to try and just appreciate the quiet, knowing that it was unlikely she would get more than a few minutes of it at any given moment. The country was in chaos – the world was in chaos. She was the most unlikely person to be put into this position and yet somehow, that was exactly what had happened. Figuring all of it out went beyond trying to look and act presidential when the cameras were on her. She couldn't change who she was. She had to make who she was work for where they were stuck.Jackson glanced over at his wife with soft eyes and she reached over to him, her nails running up and down his spine. He had at least managed to get some sleep the night before. Maybe enough for both of them. She'd barely managed to get in three hours before she was up again with a strong cup of coffee straight from the kitchen."You thought my speech was okay, right?" She sought out his approval."Of course," he nodded his head. "You know I've had problems with the police – especially the past few years.""I know," April murmured, continuing to scratch his back. "It just doesn't feel like I'm doing enough, sitting here.""You're the President now, pumpkin. Your word means a lot more to the public now than it did two days ago. You've got a lot on your plate." He reminded her.She let out a sigh, aware he was correct. "I know I can't go to every problem. I just wish I could.""Well, what if I did?" He suggested as he sat up. "The First Gentleman going to make an appearance, to help… that's got to mean something, right? You can't go, but I can.""What about the kids?" Her brows furrow. "Someone's got to be here with them.""My mom's going to be here. And we can get your mom here, too. Or your sisters. There are plenty of people who can watch them. Just a day. I'll fly out early tomorrow morning, be back by dinner to join you in bed." Jackson leaned in, kissing her cheek. "You won't even know I'm gone.""Yeah…" she released the breath she was holding onto. "Yeah, you're right. I'll ask Steph."The idea was quickly approved by Stephanie and arrangements are made with the secret service to get a plane and a detail prepared to take him over to speed to the governor of Michigan himself. Catherine was more than happy to stay in the residence and watch the children. One less thing for April to worry about, even if it was a big move that would affect how she was viewed as a leader. She had no shortage of problems to address in the immediate D.C. area.Faces of the missing and deceased continued to play through the news stations and social media. April hadn't been on anything other than Instagram, to begin with – now, the official presidential Twitter was technically hers, too. She hadn't used it yet. It wasn't a priority.Immediately, she needed help running the country.Stephanie, as well as some of the interns, had thrown together a short list of names for her to go through herself, approve them, and then pass onto Congresswoman Shepherd. It takes an afternoon. Options were slim instead of overflowing as they had been before. The only good thing about this was there was no cluster of politicians with secondary agendas to push along or slow down confirmations. Instead, it was just two good women trying to do the best thing that they could do for their country. It had been a long time since anything had been done like that.It was late when April had the chance to do what she had been waiting for. Dressed down in jeans and a button-up, she was brought in through a back door of the hospital to see the only survivor of the attack."Senator Taylor?" She knocked on the door to his room gently. "I wanted to see how you're feeling.""President Kepner," his voice was rough. "I'm sorry I can't stand to greet you, ma'am.""Don't apologize," she shook her head quickly as she stepped into his room. "I wanted to come by earlier in the day but it's been pretty busy, as you can probably imagine…" A soft smile filled the curve of her lips. "You've technically been in D.C. longer than I have. I'm finding out that I am not good at playing the game of politics.""My father was a good senator. That's the only reason that I know what I'm doing." He chuckled and winced, gripping his stomach. "Please, ma'am, take a seat.""You can call me April. I'm sure that we're going to be working together with each other enough to earn that." She offered, pulling over one of the chairs to sit down next to him. "I'm sure that the doctors and nurses here are taking good care of you, but… can I do anything for you?""Then you need to call me Matthew," he smiled. "Find out who did this. I may have survived, but my wife didn't. We… we were expecting. Our first kid, after trying for four years."Her face fell at the information. "I am so sorry." She said honestly. "We're doing everything that we can do to find out who did this, I promise. It's not been easy but we're going to.""That's all I ask, ma'am."Dearborn, Michigan was freezing cold this time of year, just outside of Detroit. Jackson had never actually been to the city itself but he wasn't unaware of the town. Before, it was known for its population of Muslims. Now, it was going to be known for this act of violence.Stepping off the private plane, Jackson's arms wrapped in front of his ribcage as he walked down the stairs. The wind chilled him as he stepped down, secret service following him out. In front of him, there was already a blockade of motor vehicles that appeared mostly to be police. In the line of people, onlookers, journalists, and others, Governor Stark was standing there. He looked older in person. The First Gentleman straightened up as he approached, offering a hand to the other man."Governor Stark," he greeted. "I'm glad to have this conversation in person.""Sir," he gave a weak handshake."I'm here on the behalf of the president. Not just as a member of the First Family, but as a black man. I know a thing or two about facing prejudice from well-meaning police officers who suffer from bias. Hopefully, working together, we can take a few steps in the right direction and get ahead of this problem." Jackson spoke confidently."Uh huh," Stark replied and withdrew his hand. "The police here are acting on my orders. I've got a population of 10 million people to take care of here in Michigan, and I'm not sure what you can do.""Starting with teaching your officers not to act on a matter of a person's skin or religion would help." He responded shortly, straightening up so he towered over Stark."Someone in that Muslim community is bound to know someone who's radicalized." Stark scoffed."We don't know that the community has anything to do with it. In case you've forgotten, right now, we don't know who did this." He reminded him. "There's no excuse for this."He shook his head. "An officer made a judgment call.""No. There's no judgment in that call. That was just a reaction. You see skin color. We all do. But the reaction that you give to a white kid versus a brown kid in that split second? That's the measurable, fixable difference. Bias is human. Bias is fixable. You have protocols in place that can be adjusted. You can fix it. Or you can keep pretending that it doesn't exist at all. Kids are dying. Those kids are dead. For what? So many people that look just like him are dying. For what?""Perhaps we should take this somewhere private," Governor Stark suggested.The request made by the governor, however, was too late.Everything that Jackson had said was overheard by the news reporters on the scene, and the quote was taken with to headline the news for the remainder of the day as the two of them went into talks. The love for what he had said was nearly unanimous other than among Fox News and their pundits. There would always be outliers. That was one that, well, he was unbothered by not having the approval of.Five hundred miles away, snippets of the scene are replayed over and over again for April to see. It was stronger than she had expected. He had always been so careful with his words, always particularly chosen. But the passion was clear. She couldn't have been more proud."Sending him out there was a smart move," Stephanie remarked. "He's good.""Yeah, he is," April agreed with a nod of her head.By the time that Jackson was on the plane back to D.C., the news had already broken across all of the major stations. Governor Stark had agreed to release everyone who had been taken in by police with no formal charges pressed against them. No apology was made, but, a promise was made that a proper investigation would be put forth to look at the actions of the officer's who had committed the shooting that had started all of the conversations in the first place. It was a step in the right direction."You are a godsend," she greeted her husband the moment she set foot into the residence that night."Just doing what I can." Jackson smiled down at her, leaning forward for a quick kiss."I'm serious." Energy buzzed throughout her entire body. "What you did today was amazing. I don't know if I could have done it with the conviction that you did. People heard you and they believed you. They rooted for you. It was exactly what we needed right now. I'm pretty sure Steph wanted to kiss you just as much as I did when I saw the news," she laughed."Well, hopefully, she won't mind if I save my kisses for you," he grinned as he spoke."I think she'll be fine with it." April's arms wrapped around his neck, stretching up on her toes just a bit. "Seriously. I'm pretty sure that you're better at this than I am.""We have different strengths," he reminded her. "You're good at what you do, too. Don't doubt yourself because of me. That's not what I'm here for. I'm supposed to lift you up, remember?""I know, I know," she spoke quickly as she nodded her head. "And you do. You absolutely do.""How are the Cabinet nominations going?" Jackson asked, switching subjects."Good, I think." She let go of the breath that she was holding onto, moving over to the dresser to take off her jewelry. "I think we'll be able to announce it tomorrow, after President Webber's funeral."Jackson toed out of his dress shoes and began to unbutton his shirt to get dressed for bed. "That's good," he nodded his head. "I'm guessing the kids are already asleep given that it's way past their bedtime.""Yeah," April nodded. "They were so surprised that it was me and not you tucking them in. Made me feel bad."He grabbed a clean pair of pajama pants, putting them on. "They know that you're doing your best. And you are. You can't forget that either.""Well, it was nice to be the one to tuck them in." She smiled softly and pulled on a nightie."I'm glad." Jackson moved to the bed to undo the covers. "I'm sure they were too.""Do you want to hear that Samuel told me today?" She asked as she crawled under the covers and began to curl up against her husband, ready to suck away his warmth and be held. Her day had not felt as successful as his had been. She had missed him."What?""He said that being here's not so bad, because even when I'm not cooking, it still means that you're not," she laughed. "He likes the chefs a lot. He's befriended one of them, according to Catherine. Sam's got all your charm.""Sam's going for the most important person here. The chef. He's definitely my kid," Jackson chuckled. "What about Harriet?""She's still adjusting, I think. She misses her old bedroom but I got someone to go get her nightlight, so I think that made her happy." April answered. "We need to get both of them settled into having a tutor, at least. I'm not really sure how schools will work for them – I know we need to talk about it still, it's probably some private school something, but… I just haven't had the time with everything else.""I'll figure out school for them. Then maybe I can figure out my work, too." He grabbed her hands and kissed the back of her knuckles, letting go only to wrap his arm around her slim figure. "For now, let's just sleep, huh? No Stephanie knocking down our door. We've got a couple of hours to ourselves."A few hours of peace was allowed for them both, April managing to get the most hours of consecutive sleep thus far since she had been swept into the role of the presidency – five hours.Unfortunately, there's no natural waking of sunlight streaming into the room or one of their children jumping onto their bed insistent about starting the day. Instead, it was April's phone buzzing. It took a moment for Jackson to hear it and he nudged his wife awake with a groan. She rolled over, nearly knocking it off the nightstand before she could pick it up to hear Stephanie on the other end of the line, stating that there was an emergency in the west wing.April thought that she didn't sleep enough – she had to wonder a moment, when did Stephanie sleep?Getting a quick shower and throwing on a dress, wet hair was thrown back into a braid and she walked through the White House with a face bare of makeup to get to the oval office. Her typical routine of getting ready took too long even when there weren't kids slowing her down with one reason or another. She could go back and get ready for the funeral later."What's going on?" April asked as she stepped into the room."Ma'am, we need you to keep back," Ben spoke."What is it?" She repeated her question."It appears that there's been a hack." A man that she didn't recognize spoke – scrawny, younger than her, hunched over the computer at her desk and carefully not sitting down behind it. "Specifically to you, ma'am. We're looking into it right now."She gulped. "Another attack?""It's too soon to tell." He answered. "We're still looking into it.""Oh my god," she groaned, running a hand over her face. "Steph, what is this?""We're not sure but we're going to tear apart your computer to find out what breach, if any, has occurred with the information. We'll get a meeting set up with the head of NSA after this and Deputy Director Yang to see if it's going to be a follow up to the attack on the Capitol." She spoke confidently."It's going to have to be after President Webber's funeral," April remarked. "I can't miss that. And I can't exactly go to it looking like this, either," she waved a hand at herself."We might not have information until then. It'll be the first thing on your agenda after the funeral." Stephanie replied."We'll get this done as soon as possible," the technician spoke up. "But it's going to take some time to figure out how they got past the network." It was supposed to be the most secure network in the world. Apparently, it wasn't.A heavy sigh escaped the president's lips. "I can't believe this is happening.""We need to keep this out of the press," Steph spoke up again quickly. "Especially since we don't know who or how this happened. There's no way this leaks. We need to keep things business as normal around here.""How do we keep something like this from getting out?" April questioned."That's for me to worry about." She replied. "You go, get ready for the funeral. You're getting a new phone and it'll have your updated agenda for this afternoon when you do.""Okay," she nodded her head. "Thank you."After taking care of a few more things, April was able to make her way back to the residence so that she could finish getting ready for the funeral. She and Jackson got ready side by side in the bathroom as she covered her exhaustion with concealer and put on a modest nude lipstick. Jackson gave himself a clean shave and polished off his watch, spritzing a bit of cologne on. Even in a new bathroom, they worked around each other with ease and familiarity. For a few minutes, it almost felt like things between them were normal again.Of course, things weren't.Jackson stepped behind her to clasp her necklace for her, smoothing out the shoulders of her dress and admiring her reflection in the mirror as she fixed her hair. It had been a long time since either one of them had been to a funeral – last time, it had been a co-worker of his. There wasn't quite the same emotional stab that there would be today. There hadn't been the attention that there would be, either."You look nice," Jackson complimented as he took a step back to look at his wife."So do you," she smiled at him softly.Hand-in-hand, both of them left the residence to get into the car that would take them to the funeral. It was meant to be a private event but it was unlikely that would be the case. Events like this always had some kind of press and media attention, at least on the outside."Mommy!" Samuel barreled into his mother's legs, nearly knocking her over as she caught support with her husband and let out a laugh."Hi, baby." Her hand ran through his hair, expression falling momentarily as some came out. "Aren't you supposed to be with your sister?""Hattie's taking a nap," he answered. "I miss you.""I'll be with you at the doctor's appointment tomorrow." She squatted down to his level, pressing a kiss on his cheek. "I promise. Nothing's going to stop me.""You swear?" He asked. "Pinky promise?"April held out her pinky with a smile. "Pinky promise." He took hers and gave it a squeeze.Putting one more kiss on his cheek, a lingering glance was given at her son before the president took her husband's hand once more so that they could get into the car and go to the funeral. It felt like a long one.The funeral was beautifully put together, crowded with older politicians and other significant figures across the American landscape in the past few decades. April and Jackson were sat near the front of it as speakers came up to talk about their relationship to President Webber and what an outstanding man he had been, who he was behind the political figurine that the rest of the world saw. Tears were shed, at some point, or another by the majority of the audience. It stretched out longer than what April had anticipated based on the number of speakers. Everyone wanted to say something unique and memorable. Everyone wanted to play a part in the funeral.By the time that it was over, she was relieved to get out of there. Keeping her emotions under bay was something necessary to do in order to look presidential and not get criticized for overreacting – something that the would have never done to a man in her position, of course, but she had to take extra precautions in order to try and earn the same respect from the world. She had to be stoic, but emotionless. Soft, but not weak. It was an impossible balance.Any sense of peace or stillness that had come at the funeral, however, was quickly torn away again once April had set foot inside of the White House. The hustle and bustle hadn't stopped, and she could only imagine that the cyber attack in the West Wing this morning had made matters all the worse.Deputy Director Yang and the NSA director were both waiting in the Oval Office for her."Please tell me that there are answers about either one of the attacks," April pleaded."It looks like the hack was an isolated incident. Our analysts are still going over everything on your computer but it doesn't appear like any information has been breached. We're still working on who had it but there was no damage to the system, either." He explained."So…" she started slowly. "So, what? Just a random hack to prove that they could? What was the point of hacking into the system if they didn't actually do anything?""We're still looking to figure that out, ma'am," he answered. "We'll let you know as soon as we know."April shifted her attention to Deputy Director Yang. "What about the attack on the Capitol?""The military is ready to strike as soon as we have more information." She answered. "Our intel is pointing toward what could possibly be a new group.""A new group?" She asked, her eyebrows raising."Yes," Yang nodded. "We have been able to track down some conversation in a growing group out of a fractured section of Boko Haram. But we're not letting any possibilities go unexplored at this point."The NSA director's phone buzzed and he excused himself to pick it up. April's arms crossed in front of her ribcage as she took a step closer to Yang and listened to her speak about the possibilities that the CIA had been exploring as they tried to get more information on the attack. Everything that she said sounded smart and official, and for a few moments, the redhead found herself struggling to keep up with all of it."Ma'am, we've got some new information." The NSA director interrupted as he stepped into the room again. "You're going to want to hear this.""What is it?" April asked."There's been a file found on your computer. It looks like whoever hacked into your computer left something behind instead of taking something," he explained. A few moments later, a video was pulled up on the screen in the room. "This is it.""Hit play." She nodded.A man's shaded figure appeared on the screen with poor lighting, but his face was still visible. He began to speak in Arabic. April glanced back and forth between Deputy Director Yang and the NSA director who seemed to have more understanding of what was being said on the video than she did. The entire video played, a little less than a minute, and she waited until it had finished playing before she spoke up."So what exactly was that?" April looked between them. "Did either one of you understand what he was saying?""Yes," Yang answered with a nod. "His group is called Al-Sakar. He's taking credit for the Capitol bombing. It's a separate entity of Boko Haram, not related. They're a small group. They shouldn't be capable of an attack of that size.""If they were capable of hacking into the West Wing, then they're capable of the Capitol bombing," the NSA director disagreed as he turned the president."We're going to need a round table meeting with Major Hunt," Yang said."I agree," April nodded her head. "We need to get that set up now. Stephanie!"A round table meeting was set up with the president, the deputy director, the NSA director, Major Hunt, and other important military figures. The video was played through with an exact translation of what was being said on the video and confirm that it was what Deputy Director Yang had said.Major Hunt insisted once more on going hard about everyone who could possibly have information about what had happened through any means necessary. Again, April shut it down. Instead, she placed Yang in charge of gathering more information for the next steps. She trusted the woman more – even if she didn't know her well, she seemed smart and fierce, tough yet reasonable. Something about her was trustworthy. She would rely on that. She would have to.Her feet ached in her heels by the time that she was returning to the residence at the end of the day. Hopefully, the group responsible for having exposed themselves by taking credit for the attack meant that things would get easier from here. Or at least, more straightforward. But April didn't know what the right move was. The war, military, that wasn't her area of expertise. She couldn't have been getting further and further away from agriculture. She was going to have to listen to the council of those around her closely and hope that they would go down the right path for the right reasons, not some kind of political motivation. A few weeks ago, she wouldn't have trusted anyone in D.C. to do that. But now with the hill gone, it was her only choice.
PRESIDENT WEBBER'S PRIVATE FUNERAL.

IS DEARBORN JUST THE START?
"I hate that I have to actually watch the news so nonstop now," April remarked with a glance at her husband. "I just want to curl up and watch This is Us with you.""It was a lot easier to watch the news when they weren't talking about you – or us – nonstop," he agreed with a slight nod of the head.
BREAKING NEWS: AL-SAKAR TAKES CREDIT FOR CAPITOL BOMBING.
"Shit," she swore."Did you know?" Jackson asked."Breaking news!" The news anchor announced. "Sources inside of the White House have just released this video, of terrorist Majid Nassar, leader of the group Al-Sakar, taking responsibility for the attack on the Capitol." She continued. April reached for the remote and turned the volume down."That was supposed to be classified." She reached for a phone to send Stephanie a text, assuming that she was likely watching the same thing. "Crap.""Do you need to go deal with it?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently."I don't think there's anything that can really be done till morning other than trying to find it – which falls upon… someone other than me," she shook her head as she spoke. "And Samuel's doctor appointment is in the morning. I can't miss that."Jackson cringed slightly. "I mean if you have to…""No," April interrupted him quickly with a shake of her head. "I won't let Sammy down like that.""Okay," he gave a slight nod of his head. "So what are you going to do?""I don't know."The phone call that April has with Stephanie goes on longer than she would have liked. Part of her wanted nothing more than to get to bed and try to be refreshed for the long day tomorrow, knowing that it was going to be split between her obligation to the country and her obligation to her son. Neither one of them could be sacrificed.But she stood firm on her ground. She had to go to the doctor's appointment tomorrow.Morning, instead, comes at five a.m. Getting up and dressed, putting on a face of makeup that she hoped would remain from the day, April was down in the war room again before she had to go to Samuel's doctor appointment. Sleep was going to be sacrificed instead of her obligation to her work and to her son. Coffee would make up for it while she could, carrying it around in a silver mug and practically refusing to let go of it. As information is thrown at her, about Al-Sakar, about Majid Nassar, she doesn't hesitate to empty it and ask someone to get her more. Major Hunt wanted to attack. Deputy Director Yang said they needed to wait until they got information about how the bombs had gotten into the Capitol in the first place. She agreed with Yang."Madam President," Stephanie popped her head into the room to interrupt, her eyebrows raised. "If you still want to go to your son's appointment, then you're going to need to leave now.""Yes, of course," April nodded her head. "Yang, I trust you. Please, don't let me down."The only way to keep Samuel with the current doctor that he had been seeing, which Jackson and April had both agreed was probably the best thing to do, was to get the earliest appointment in the day and have Secret Service go ahead and sweep the building, perform background checks on everyone, and do whatever else they needed to clear it. Everything and everyone was still on high alert, even now that a new cabinet was put into place."I didn't think that you were going to come," Samuel leaned his head onto his mother's shoulders. A frown dug into the corners of her lips and she wrapped her arms around her son, hugging him tightly and resting her chin on top of his head."I told you that I would, buddy," she reminded him."I know," he replied. "I just thought you were going to be busy with work.""You're always busy with work," Harriet replied from her car seat."Take it easy on Mom, guys," Jackson spoke up. "She's one of the most important people in the world. Even if you guys are the most important to us, she can't let other people down."Thank you, April thought silently, giving him a long look."Thanks for coming, Mom," Samuel tightened around her. "I hate the doctor.""I know, baby," she replied with a sweet kiss on top of his head. "And hopefully, we won't have to come back so much. I know things are crazy right now and I don't want this to be one of those crazy things. Your last round of chemo went well, remember?""You've seemed to feel a lot better since the move, too," Jackson added. "We both kind of thought that the opposite was going to happen.""Maybe it's 'cause the food is better," Harriet suggested innocently."Maybe," Jackson laughed.Ben spoke up. "We're here." A few seconds later, he opened up the car door for all of them."You first," Samuel said, nudging his mom toward the door.April took Ben's hand and got out first before the rest of her family followed – Samuel, Jackson, then Jackson getting Harriet out of the car seat. The waiting room at the doctor's office was empty other than the service agents who had come along with them, two women waiting behind the desk for the Kepner-Avery family."Hi, Mrs– ah, President Kepner," Marilyn greeted her with a timid smile. "Dr. Avery," she threw in as an afterthought to her husband. "And hi Samuel, Harriet.""Hi," Harriet chirped in a reply as Samuel hid behind his mother's leg."We're ready for our appointment with Dr. Robbins," April spoke. "Hoping for some good news.""We all are," Marilyn replied with a nod of her head. "And we're ready for you. Harriet, do you want to stay out here and play or do you want to go back with your parents?""I wanna go with Mommy," Harriet answered, reaching up for her mother.Even though she was getting a little bit for this, April smiled down at her daughter before squatting down to scoop her up and carry her at her hip. She could tell that the insanity that her new schedule with being the president was making both of her children cling to her more than they had before. Although as a parent, she had struggled with attachment issues particularly around the first birthday, she and Jackson had both tried to teach their children to be independent. Now, it felt like that had been thrown away.It was a short walk back to the actual room, the nurse taking Samuel's height and weight. He'd grown another inch but his weight had remained about the same as it had been before.Sometimes when they had been to the doctor before, they had been sat in the patient room for thirty or forty minutes before Dr. Robbins would come in with her winning smile and words of reassurance, alongside whatever truth. But now, it's only a moment of worrying before the door opened and the blonde stepped in."Hi, Samuel." Dr. Robbins stepped in with warmth and grace. "Long time no see. I heard that you guys are living in a different house now. A really big one.""It's really big!" Harriet spoke up. Jackson pulled the squirmy girl up into his lap."Yeah," Samuel answered shyly. "We're in the White House now.""That's pretty cool," she smiled at the boy before addressing both parents. "Mom, Dad. I'm happy to see you both here today. I'm sure that you just be tired.""Yeah," April breathed out with a nod of her head. "We're just really hoping that there's going to be some good news today." She gave Samuel's shoulder a little rub and squeeze. "The new treatment was hard on first but he's seeming to do better. Right, buddy?"Samuel nodded his head. "Yeah. It's easier to eat now.""Well, that's good." Dr. Robbins nodded her head. "I want to get some more scans and go over them with you all while you're here, that way you don't have to come and go and come and go. So we'll get that done first, then the bloodwork, then the regular physical." She explained. "Sam, are you ready?"He glanced at both his parents, looking for encouragement. When he got it, he spoke. "Yeah, I am."Dr. Robbins took Samuel to the back to get the x-rays done. The three of them remained in the room, trying to be patient, trying to suppress the worry that came. It was impossible not to. Even if he had been doing better towards the end of the chemo treatments, that didn't mean anything about the cancer itself. Jackson understood more about all of it than he did, but even then, sometimes it felt like a giant process of guess and check.At least when it comes to the blood draw, April gets to hold her son's hand and they're both in the room for the physical exam. It was normal. Harriet is easily distracted when she's given her father's phone and gets to play one of the games on it. A few minutes later, one of the nurses came in with a manila folder and handed it over to Dr. Robbins."Is that the results of the scan and bloodwork?" Jackson asked."Yes," Dr. Robbins nodded her head."What does it say?" April continued."It hasn't spread, so that's good," she started slowly. "But the tumor hasn't responded to the new regiment like I was hoping that it would. I would like to try something more aggressive – a combination of chemo and radiation. It'll be more intense. The list of side effects are the same generally, but more hair loss, more nausea, more exhaustion. I don't know what your schooling situation is right now but… a traditional school would be too much."Both parents' face fell as they absorbed the information. Each one of them knew they had to keep strong for their children, but moments like this made it impossibly hard. Nights like this led to being in bed, holding onto one another with a sense of desperation. Likely, it would be the same tonight.Even Samuel understood most of what the doctor said and slouched down. This was far from what any of them had been hoping to hear. He had always wanted to try and maintain a normal life, get to go to school just like any other kid. He had been lucky with his hair so far – thin, but still there. All he had wanted was to be a normal kid, not the cancer kid."Okay," Jackson spoke slowly. "It's more intense – what about the results? What do they say?""They're very promising," Dr. Robbins nodded her head. "We just don't like to start with it because of how strong it can be, especially on kids.""What do you think, baby?" April spoke to her son. "Are you okay with it? Starting over again?""Everything else has changed." It was hard to tell if Samuel was complaining about it or not. "I guess it's okay if this does, too."April reached for him, pulling him in for a hug and a kiss. "That's my strong boy. I'm so proud of you."