Elizabeth McCord sat on the window seat of her bedroom with her legs tucked up under herself, watching the darkness. She was waiting for the sun to rise, praying that with it, a confidence would also rise within her.

The fear and doubt hadn't hit her right away. Walking into the courtroom, she had felt utterly sure; utterly right. She hadn't felt an ounce of fear - not even as Henry's face changed as he understood why she was there and what she was doing. She recognized his look of fear and anger, understanding that every molecule in his body was bound and determined to protect her. His need to prevent her from harm had become a wall between them as he tried to push her to accept that the most moral man she had ever known was going to publicly lie; that he was going to commit perjury to protect her.

She hadn't really slept at all that night - especially after Russell's visit. She'd paced and occasionally argued with Henry. After awhile though, they'd quit arguing. One thing they had learned to do in twenty-five years was fight. They both recognized that continued conversations would lead to frustration. Henry wasn't going to change his mind and neither was she. He would lie to save her whether she wanted him to or not. And he was furiously angry. She'd never seen such an entrenched rage. He believed in a world of reason and logic, and the vindictive attack on her was impossible for him to process.

"No." He'd said. "No! They want you to take the fall! No way! You've got a way out, and the only way they can't get to you now is through me! No!"

"Henry! How are you going to live with it? You are an honest person! You always have been! This will crush you!"

"I'm not a child!" He spat angrily. "You believe I've never told a lie? C'mon! And this is righteous - it's just. You are not going to jail!"

"So, you are? That makes no sense!"

"I'm not going to jail! The only one who knows about that conversation is you and I."

"And Isabel." Tears of frustration filled her blue eyes. "And she was bugged. Henry! Juliet probably knows! Where do you think this came from?"

"I don't care where it came from!" His voice rose in anger. "You aren't testifying! Elizabeth! No! I'm taking care of this!"

"Don't yell at me!" She spat back. "I know you want to protect me but . . ."

"Stop it! Just stop!" He threw up his hands and stormed from the room. He brushed past Alison who stood wide-eyed in the hallway and disappeared downstairs.

"Mom?" She asked. "What's going on?"

"Noth . . .nothing. Honey, go back to bed."

"What is going on?" Jason stood in his doorway rubbing his eyes.

"Go back to bed." She said frustration flooding her system.

"Mom and Dad are fighting!" Ali said her eyes wide with fear. "He just stormed out!"

"Mom! What is going on?" Jason turned toward her.

"No. We are just working something out! Just, look, it's okay. Dad's just . . . Please just go back to bed. Everything is going to be fine!"

"Stop lying to us!" Jason exploded. "You keep saying that! It isn't true! Nothing is fine! Nothing! Your stupid job! You nearly got killed and nearly and you came back all . . . And Aunt Juliet's . . . Everything is screwed up!"

"Jason, don't!" Ali turned to her brother. "It isn't Mom's fault!"

"Yes, it is!" Jason turned on his sister. "You know it is! You even said yesterday that everything is a mess because of her stupid job and. . ."

"Get to bed." Henry's voice was icy cold, and they all turned to look. He was halfway up the kitchen stairs. "Now!"

"Dad, I just . . ." Jason sputtered.

"We'll talk in the morning! Get to bed!" Jason said nothing, ducking his head and turning slowly to go back into his room. "Alison, you too."

"Yes, sir." The broken sound of her voice shattered Elizabeth but she was unable to speak, was actually finding it difficult to breath. She watched numbly as Alison's door closed, and then found herself clutching the wall as she gasped for breath.

Henry sprang into immediate action. He guided her back into the bedroom pushing her down to sit on the bench at the end of their bed.

"Put your head down." His hand gently pushed her head down and she found herself blinking at the floor.

"I think . . . It's . . .my . . . I . . ."

"No. You're okay. Elizabeth, just breathe."

Her body was completely seized by panic, as he briefly disappeared from her field of vision.

"Henry!" She gasped out. "I'm sorry . . I . . . Don't . . ."

"Stop talking!" His voice was angry again. He handed her a paper bag. "Breathe, babe. Just breathe.

"No, . . . This might . . . It feels . . . Like . . ."

"It's not a heart attack. You are okay. Just . . .please, honey, just focus on breathing."

She fought hard against the panic. At first she was fairly certain that she was going to die right there with her children upset and her last moments fighting with Henry, but slowly she felt her lungs filling again with air.

The whole time, Henry sat beside her, one hand on her arm. It took her a few minutes for her to focus on anything other than her wildly beating heart, but realized that he'd been keeping a steady stream of encouragement as she struggled.

"That's better. You've got it. Nice and easy. Just breathe. It's okay. You're okay."

"I thought . . ." She gasped out, moving the bag away from her mouth. "You were mad . . . At me."

He pushed the bag back toward her mouth. "Sweetheart, I swear! If you don't stop talking I will be mad! Baby, just breathe."

Tears filled her eyes and she couldn't brush them aside. She watched as they fell to the floor. She kept her head low and closing her eyes focused in on the rhythm of her heart, trying to remember everything she'd been taught. Finally, she was able to set the bag aside.

"Better?" Henry asked quietly.

"Yes." She felt completely exhausted and hopeless. She couldn't remember a time feeling worse - it was if she had just returned from Iran and darkness was consuming her all over again. She felt Henry let go of her arm and silently move away. She would've wept but found she had nothing left. She knew she needed to go talk to Jason and Alison but couldn't even find the strength to lift her head. She kept her eyes on the floor, remembering how much they'd loved all the floors when they'd first toured the house. Staring at it now, she wished they'd never left the farm, that she'd never dragged her family to the city.

The sudden gasping sound is what finally pulled her attention away from her own misery. She was shocked to discover that Henry hadn't left the room. He was sitting on the edge of the chaise, head down.

He was weeping.

She blinked momentarily frozen with shock. She crossed to him and knelt in front of him, her hands on his strong arms.

"Henry?" Her voice was still raspy from the panic attack. Her throat tight with tears. "Babe?"

Henry was not a man closed off to his feelings. He was, however, a Marine, and tears were rare. He'd cried at the birth of each child, and when his mother died. She'd fallen asleep to the sound of his crying the night she'd returned from Iran, while her own eyes remained dry - too wounded to cry with him. He'd cried again with her when she'd finally broken down and told him everything. Even as she peered up into his face, she wondered if Iran would be what destroyed them.

"I'm sorry." He managed at last. "I'm sorry for . . . I don't want to fight with you."

"It's alright, Henry. I'm okay."

"No." He choked out. "I yelled at the kids and gave you a panic attack and I'm so sorry."

"Hey, I'm okay." She reached out with gentle fingers to caress his face. "Henry, stop. It's okay. I argued, too."

She sat down on the ground, looking up into his face. It was impossible for her to remember back to a life before him. It seemed that she'd been looking up into his eyes her whole life. "Henry? C'mon. You can make things right with the kids later, and I am okay."

"Please, just let me say we never talked about it."

"But, it's perjury. Henry, what if they send you to jail?"

"If one of us is going. It's going to be me." The angry edge returned to his voice. He took her hands in his. "Please, Elizabeth, please! You have to let me do this. You've suffered so much already and I couldn't bear more. I can't bear to see you hurt more. Let me do this."

"If you go to prison, you don't think I'll be hurt?"

"I'm not going to prison."

"You don't think knowing that I caused you to violate your core beliefs, won't hurt me? Henry, you are so good! I couldn't bear it if you were corrupted because of me."

He squeezed her fingers tightly, and lifting her hands, kissed them. "Baby, please. I couldn't protect you in Iran. I couldn't even really help you when you got home, but I can do this."

It was his desperation that finally pushed her to agree. She could see how shattered he was - how desperately he needed to do something. They'd finally come to an understanding near dawn and exhausted had lain together wrapped in each other's arms. She hadn't wanted to move when her alarm went off. She slammed it into silence and crawled straight back into his embrace.

"Let me at least go . . ."

"No." He'd cut her off firmly. "There's no way you could stay silent if you were there. No. I'll call you when it's over."

"Okay." She'd responded weakly. "Henry, I'm so sorry about all of this. I never ever would bring this pain to you."

"Stop." He'd said, his voice husky. "This isn't your fault and it isn't going to destroy us. This is just another storm. We'll survive it." He kissed her. "No more crying, babe. I can't . . . I can't manage it just now.

"Okay." She agreed, swallowing an ocean of tears.

They'd talked to the kids - Apologizing for the fight. Henry's sweet humility was almost too much to bear.

"Things are just a little bit tense right now." He explained. "And I get really frustrated when I can't make sure all of us are safe; when I can't protect your mother."

"But you said that everything was settled. That you wouldn't have to testify." Alison said. "Why do they want to talk to Dad?"

"Because they can't get at your mother." He said sighing heavily.

"Well, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Jason burst out. "Clearly they don't know a thing about you guys! Dad would never say anything that would get Mom in trouble. Never!"

It had been a long morning of talking. Jason had tearfully apologized, and Alison's worry was so powerful that it could be felt by everyone. She'd felt like such a liar sending her out the door and telling her that everything was going to be fine. Henry had no classes, and so she gathered up her things and stood in front of his desk, trembling.

"I better go." She said, trying to keep her voice even. "I'm already late."

"Okay." He said without looking up. "See you tonight."

She understood it; knew what he was trying to do, but moving to walk away from him, reminded her too much of dashing out and leaving for Iran. She'd been terrified and knew if she stayed one second longer she would never be able to go at all. And so she'd kissed him and ran out the door leaving so much unsaid. She couldn't bear to do that again.

"Call me later." She said softly.

"Of course." He still refused to look up at her.

"Henry," Her voice was soft. "Henry."

"No. I, uh, I can't, babe. It's okay. Go to work."

"I love you." She said. "All my life and everyday. And you were wrong last night. You did help me when I came home. You were infinitely patient, and I don't think I would've survived it without you. And I know that no matter what happens today, we'll be alright. We can manage anything." She moved closer, wanting so badly to wrap her arms around him but instead reached for his hand, squeezing tightly. "I love you." She repeated and kissing the top of his head had walked out the door.

By the time she'd gone to work, she was completely exhausted. It was only ten am but it felt like midnight. It must have been written all over her face because the first thing Blake did was hand her a cup of coffee.

"You've got no meetings this morning." He said crisply.

"I thought I was meeting with Ambassador . . ."

"No, ma'am that got pushed back until next week."

"By whom?" She asked, knowing the answer. Blake leaned toward overly-protective from time to time.

"That's . . . Uh . . . Not really relevant to . . . Uh. . ." He grew pale. "Ma'am, please don't be angry but I thought with Dr. McCord testifying . . ."

"It's fine, Blake." She waved a hand at him. "You are probably right. I'm a little tense today." She sighed. "Are there any donuts?" She asked uncharacteristically, choosing the comfort of sugar.

***MS***

She had thought she could go through with it; that she could let him lie. But as it grew closer and closer to two, she felt her resolve weakening. She couldn't imagine a world in which Henry McCord was a liar. It was impossible to accept. And they'd done nothing wrong. She remembered Henry telling Mike B that. In all their arguing they'd ignored this simple fact - everything that was done was done to save the Nation - to save the world! She realized suddenly that they'd become completely sidetracked and forgotten the truth - they hadn't done anything wrong.

Walking into the hearing had been the toughest part. She knew Henry would be furious and that it would fill him with fear. She hated to surprise him but also knew it was the only way. His face had gone white upon seeing her. His features sharpening into tight angry lines. Even after she gave his own advice back to him - reminding him of who they were, his face remained tense - his fear for her visible.

Standing on the steps outside in the freezing cold afterwards, she'd felt joyful. She was so confident in her choice that even when Mike B told them her testimony was being turned over to the justice department, she felt no fear. Henry was less sure. He'd ridden back to the office with her, holding tightly to her hand.

"The kids probably saw it on the news." He said sighing. "Stevie texted me." He held his phone up to her.

"Are you angry?" She asked suddenly perplexed.

"No, babe! No, I know it was the right choice. I'm just worried about what the kids are hearing. Honestly, I'd rather stay with you but I think I'd better go home."

"I'm sure Russell is standing outside my door waiting to fire me." She sagged. "Well, I did better than eleven days."

"Seriously?" He turned toward her wide-eyed.

"What?"

"You were probably too focused on me. You didn't read that room, babe. Everyone was on Team McCord when you walked out. Everyone."

"Not quite everyone." She reminded him.

"He's just pissed off that since you came to Washington, Conrad's numbers have been on a steady rise. There's no way you are getting fired. No way." He considered her thoughtfully. "You want me to come with you?"

"No. You are right. Noodle's gonna be a mess over this, and both she and Jason have been . . . You better go home. She sighed. "I won't be long. I just have to listen to my staff freak out and get lectured and yelled at by a couple of people. You know," She grinned at him. "Just another normal day."

He smiled warmly at her. "Espionage and perjury - McCord Normal." He leaned closer. "Everything is going to be fine, sweetheart. I promise it."

"You've got that kind of power?"

"No. But good is going to win." He smiled at her, his hands holding her face.

"A DC first." She said leaning forward to kiss him.

***MS***

The office was in an uproar. Her staff furious that they hadn't known anything. And although, Daisy was nearly jumping with pleasure at both the images of her boss in the hearing and the images of the McCords on the steps outside, she was still anxious about spin.

Jay and Nadine both seemed genuinely concerned. They were arguing over points of law and protocol. It was like walking into a storm and reminded her of all the times that the kids had dissolved into chaos and Henry would have to whistle to get them to stop and listen. She wished she could whistle and was opening her mouth to tell them to stop when a shrill whistle cut through the chatter.

"Enough." She was surprised to hear Mike B's voice. "Listen chuckleheads, she doesn't have time for amateur hour. Everybody better get their crap together right now. We aren't debating if this is the stupidest thing she's ever done, since keeping another guy's staff. It happened people. Now, we need to be ready for whatever is next. So shut the hell up and get to work!"

They stood stunned for a minute and then dispersed, leaving her alone with Mike B and Blake who hovered at her elbow.

"Thanks, I think." She said to him before continuing into her office. "Although, it wasn't stupid." She said sliding out of her coat.

"Naive, then." He sighed. "Your biggest problem is that your closest advisor is a priest."

"Henry's not a priest." She shook her head and sat at her desk. "And he was against me speaking. If he gets a minute to think about it, he's going to be angry at me."

"He ought to be figuring out how to take care of your kids alone." He sank into the couch. "You've got a way of pissing off bad people, Bess."

"I do." She agreed. "I don't mean to and it was the right thing to do. Henry was never gonna take the Fifth, you know that."

"It's ridiculous! He thinks he's an actual Knight sworn to protect you! I can't work with the two of you! Your ethics are all messed up."

"You mean, we have ethics." She pointed out.

"Yes! It's really inconvenient and not all that helpful in Washington."

Just then Blake, who'd been hovering outside her door, stepped in front of it, blocking the doorway. Shocked she turned to Mike who raised an eyebrow in surprise. They rose and found themselves watching the improbable scene of Blake arguing with Russell Jackson.

"No! She is not available." He said.

"I can see her. She's standing right behind you!" Russell told him.

"Be that as it may, her day has been full enough. It's not like you are going in there to reassure her, sir. It's my job to protect her; to protect the office."

"It's fine, Blake." She told him, a hand on his arm. "Thank you, but it's fine."

"Ma'am, I don't think that . . ." He turned to face her.

"It's fine, Blake. Would you mind getting Mike and I some good coffee? I think I need something better than comes from the Mess."

"Yes, ma'am. I'll be right back." He directed this last bit at Russell who raised an eyebrow. They watched in silence as the young assistant made his way to his desk.

"Blake!" Russell Jackson called out. "For the record, it's my job to fire people like you. You are fortunate I found your outburst entertaining."

Blake paled visibly and with a nod at his boss, he left.

"He's like a rabid chihuahua." Russell said and Mike B. laughed. Elizabeth glared at him.

"What? He's right?"

Elizabeth considered him a minute and said evenly, "Come into my office, Russell, you can yell at me while I pack up my things."

"I can't fire you today." Russell told her. They moved into her office and she sat behind her desk, as Russell sank into a chair across from her. "You are so naive!"

"She really is." Mike b. agreed. "I don't understand it. She was CIA."

"President Dalton says she was an anomaly there too. He was actually surprised she lasted as long as she did - kept expecting her to quit in protest."

"Huh." Mike considered thoughtfully. "She's such an interesting choice then. He knew what he was getting into when he picked her."

"He wanted her from day one. He's got this connection to her - to that way of thinking. He's loyal." Russell shrugged. "I think it's a shared foxhole kind of thing too. He trusted her back then so . . ."

"He trusts her now." Mike finished. "I bet he regrets that today!"

"Tell me about it." They both chuckled.

"Russell," She interrupted sharply, standing with hands on hips. "I'd really like to get home to my family sometime today, so could you speed up the chewing out?"

"Oh, well, sure. I'm supposed to explain that the President is furious that you ignored his advice. I'm supposed to tell you that he isn't releasing any statements on your behalf and that he is leaving it all in the justice department's hands." He delivered this news without any fire.

"Why aren't you yelling at me?" She asked genuinely confused. "You should be furious!"

"Oh, the President is! That's why he sent me."

"And you?"

"I speak on behalf of the President." He replied cheerfully. She dropped her arms and sank into her chair.

"Russell, you are impossible to comprehend."

"I'm an enigma." He said with a shrug. "Look, Bess. It was stupid. I mean, you essentially chucked your entire political career into the trash! I can't believe how completely naive you are! You think just because what you did was right, that they won't lock you up. You are probably going to jail. And it might cost us a second term. I don't know."

"But?" She wrinkled her brows.

"What else could you do? You aren't political at all, Elizabeth. That's no secret. And I've never met anyone smarter than you - you knew what was going to happen and you did it anyway. I guess because of righteousness or love or some such nonsense." He glanced at Mike B.

"Both. Have you seen the two of them together? It's unbelievable." Mike said.

"It is ridiculous!" Russell agreed. He turned his attention back to Bess. "So, I'm not yelling at you. What for? You don't listen anyway, and it is probably the most insane situation anyone has ever been in! Even I can't deny that you nearly were killed over all of this. Even I recognize that it's a ridiculous sham of justice! I guess the difference between us is that I expected this to happen, and you and Captain America are shocked by it."

She found herself completely at a loss for words. And Mike B. said, "Look at that. You've stunned her to silence."

"Well, the day wasn't a total loss then." He rose. "Go home, Bess. There's nothing to do tonight. It's a wait and see game now. I know you are shocked to discover which side I'm rooting for." He winked at her. "Too bad about prison. I really enjoyed fighting with you."

He walked out the door almost knocking over Blake who returned with a tray of coffees. "Make sure she gets home within the hour." He told him. "She doesn't belong here."

Blake carried the drinks into her office, setting the tray on her desk. Mike be reached out taking his immediately.

"Thank you, Blake." He said taking a sip.

"Ma'am? Are you. . . Is there anything you need?"

"Oh, don't worry, Blake! She's fine. She's just trying to process the fact that Russell Jackson paid her a compliment."

"What? Ma'am?"

"I can't believe that man." She finally spoke. "Even when he's being nice, he's a complete jackass." She sank back in her seat. "Blake, can you call for the car. I'm going home."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And Blake, thank you for trying to keep Russell out. It was very sweet."

"You're welcome, ma'am." He blushed.

"But don't ever do it again. He will fire you and I'm a lot tougher than I appear."

"No doubt of that, ma'am."